
Glass_ 



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THIS IS OUR LAND. 



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" This royal throne of kings, this scepter d isle, 
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, 
This other Eden, demi-paradise, 
This fortress, built by V^ature for herself, 
t/fgainst infection, and the hand of war ; 
This happy breed of men, this little world, 
This precious stone set in the silver sea, 
Which serves it in the office of a wall, 
Or as a moat defensive to a house, 
Against the envy of less happier lands ; 
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." 

Richard II, n, i, 40-5 



THIS IS OUR 
LAND 



PROBLEMS OF THE WAR AND PEACE 

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF 

A BUSINESS MAN 



BY 

"EMPOROS" 



SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON 

KENT & CO. LTD. 4 STATIONERS' 

HALL COURT : : LONDON, E.C. 

1916 



J35"/7 



LONDON : 

Printed by Geo. W. Jones, At The Sign if The Dolphin, 

Gough Square, Fleet Street, E.C. 



o 

nri 



THIS IS OUR LAND. 



TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY OF ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN 

THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY, AND IN THE 

SURE AND STEADFAST TRUST THAT THEIR 

SACRIFICE HAS NOT BEEN IN VAIN, 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED BY 

" EMPOROS." 



Chap. 

I. 

2. 

3- 

4- 

5- 
6. 



9- 

io. 

1 1. 

12. 

x 3- 

14. 

l6. 

17- 
18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

2 3- 
24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

3°- 
3 1 - 

32. 



CONTENTS. 

Page 

Introduction ------ 9 

This is Our Land ----- 13 

War - - -- - - -15 

The Conduct of the War - - - 19 

Nationality ------ 23 

Internationalism - - - - - 25 

Our Enemy ------ 26 

Britain Beyond the Seas - - - 35 

Our Allies ------ 39 

Neutrals ------ 43 

The United States 46 

Reciprocity and Reprisals - - - 50 

Indemnity ------ 53 

Compromise - - - - - - 55 

Our Women - - - - - - 58 

The Citizen Soldier 60 

Criticism, the Censor, and the Press - 62 

Officialdom ------ 65 

Merchant Shipping - - - - 71 

Waste and Economy - - - - 76 

National Defence ----- 83 

Citizenship __-__- 85 
Aliens -------88 

Trade After the War 93 

The Consular Service 98 

Labour and Employment After the War 100 

Social Conditions After the War - - 105 

Parliament _-___- 109 

Statesmen and Politicians - - 112 
Legislation - - - - - -114 

Taxation - - - - - -118 

Education - - - - - -121 

Christianity - - - - - 125 

Unto the End _____ 129 




INTRODU CTION 




IN the following pages I have en- 
deavoured to give expression to the 
feelings and ideas which,at this great 
crisis in our history, I firmly believe, 
dominate the minds of the great 
mass of my fellow-countrymen. 

It is a truism to say that our 
people depend for their livelihood 
upon Trade, but one looks in vain 
for the recognition of this simple truth from those to whom 
we entrust the task of directing our destinies. So far it 
has been one unvarying tale of want of business ability, 
coupled with absolute disregard and contempt of ordinary 
commercial men and business methods. It is surely time 
that this ceased, and the country seems to be at last quietly 
but firmly making up its mind that it shall cease, and that 
if our present rulers cannot conduct our affairs with more 
ability and decision, they must make way for others who 
can and will do so. 

It is puerile and insulting to us as a nation to pretend 
that we are bankrupt of statesmen, and that the disappear- 
ance of the present body of politicians who form the Cabinet 



Introduction. 

would be a national calamity. On the contrary, it is by 
no means improbable that such an event would rouse the 
nation, put fresh energy into public life, and give renewed 
assurance to our Allies that we will flinch from no sacrifice 
until complete victory has crowned our arms. 

And let there be no mistake about what is meant by 
complete victory — no illusion or self-deception. It is not 
a question of victory or defeat ; it is, putting it in the 
simplest words, Victory or Death. We must achieve abso- 
lute and undeniable victory, or we forfeit our national and 
imperial existence. This truth has been slowly but surely 
spreading since the beginning of the War, and it is now 
realized by all but an insignificant faction. If only those, 
who should lead and direct public opinion, had brought 
home to the nation the magnitude of the task before it, 
they would have evoked a response, revealing how hollow 
are the fears of those doubters who have never felt the 
spirit of our past. 

The manhood of our country has won undying fame 
on many a hard-fought field, and the glorious deeds of 
the men of our race from the Dominions Beyond the Seas 
show that the ancient spirit still lives. The War has knit 
us together and made us one as nothing else could have 
done, and those entrusted with the prosecution of the War, 
and still more with the settlement of Peace, must ever 
bear in mind that they are trustees, not only for the people 
of these islands, but also for the Dominions, who have 
poured out the blood of their bravest without stint for 
the Motherland. 

It becomes a sacred duty, then, for us to see that those 
sacrifices shall not have been made in vain, that we shall 
clearly recognize the mistakes and dangers of the past, and 
that we shall make such terms of peace as will prevent 
our incurring like risks in the future. We have been so 
dazzled by oratory and linguistic dexterity of late years, 

10 



Introduction. 

that it must seem commonplace to descend to simple 
truths, which might almost be described as platitudes. 

The speeches of Mr. Hughes, the Prime Minister of 
Australia, and the enthusiastic reception accorded to him, 
show however that we can still appreciate the moving 
power of plain facts and opinions, expressed in simple and 
forcible language. And so, when we steadily focus our 
thoughts on the outcome of the War, we can see that the 
only possible settlement is the dictation by the Allies of 
their terms in Berlin, when the military spirit of Germany 
has been overthrown beyond recall. 

If we could possibly conceive of any settlement short of 
this, it must surely be clear beyond the shadow of a doubt, 
that within a measurable period — perhaps ten years — we 
should have to undergo the ordeal once again, only under 
more unfavourable conditions, and with the certainty of 
hideous destruction ; while during the interval we should 
have to make one vast munition factory of our country, 
and place the whole manhood of our nation under arms. 
I would ask any who still have doubts whether this is a 
prospect that can be entertained. 

It is sometimes objected that it is wrong to consider 
our course of action after the War until we have achieved 
Victory ; but if we do not, we shall find ourselves unpre- 
pared for Peace as we were unprepared for War. We know 
that the Allies must win, and having decided on the only 
possible result that we can accept, it is mere prudence to 
prepare and develop our plans for the new order of things 
which Peace will usher in. For we may be quite sure the 
world will never be as it has been ; the old order changeth 
indeed, but it is for us so to act that the new order shall 
enure to the welfare and honour of our race, and to the 
maintenance of those ideals of justice and freedom which 
we prize. 

Let us realize that we stand now at the supreme crisis in 

1 1 



Introduction. 

the history of our race, that all we value in this life is at 
stake, and that we must prove ourselves worthy of our 
heritage and destiny. Let us face the crisis with firm 
determination and no illusions, understanding well that 
it will test us to the uttermost, but resolved to endure 
every sacrifice to achieve the victory essential to our 
existence. 



12 



This Is Our Land. 

A SIMPLE phrase which a bare two years ago would 
■*■ *■ have been almost meaningless, but now how full of 
meaning, how it stirs our blood and fires us with some- 
thing of that fierce feeling that a mother has for her 
child ! Surely we are alive now to all that these few words 
mean, conscious of our glorious inheritance, and firmly 
resolved that this Land, this Empire, shall remain ours, 
and be handed on by us to our sons, not only undimin- 
ished but consecrated by our blood and made more 
glorious by our sacrifices. 

Realizing its full meaning, we can see how Germany 
conceived the idea and set herself the task of plunder- 
ing us of all we prized, of murdering us, and of crushing 
our race and our Empire to the dust. It is only by 
recognizing that this was her aim that we can deal faith- 
fully with her. 

We have been confronted with something we never 
dreamed of in the way of treachery and deceit. In the 
history of the world there have been many instances of 
people settling in foreign lands, and becoming citizens 
under an alien flag, driven from their native land perhaps 
by persecution, or prompted by the love of adventure or 
lure of trade. Invariably they have been welcomed and 
admitted to citizenship, giving in return loyalty and 
allegiance to the land of their adoption. There are, of 
course, many such instances in our own history, and the 
United States afford the most complete illustration of 
the absorption of alien elements. But never before has 
a nation had to deal with an event of such sinister portent 
as the immigration of men from a foreign land, who came 
ostensibly to settle and make their homes with us, who in 
many cases assumed the citizenship we too easily granted, 
but who had the one clearly defined aim of preparing the 

13 



This is Our Land. 

way for their native country to fall upon us at the chosen 
moment, in order that they might slay us and possess our 
land. 

Germany's policy of peaceful penetration might be 
defined, as sowing the seeds of treachery and deceit, which 
would in due season ripen in the appointed harvest of 
murder and plunder. The policy has been pursued in 
many lands ; we have had our bitter experience of it, and 
we must now see that never again shall such opportunity 
be given. 

This is our Land, and if we may borrow some of the 
immortal words uttered by one of the greatest of our race, 
at the crisis of his country's fate, let us "here highly 
resolve" that it shall so endure till time itself shall be no 
more. 



H 



War. 

AS a nation we have known nothing of the realities of 
>■ War, and it has taken us many months to realize 
what it means in this age of scientific and material develop- 
ment. Judged by previous wars our Expeditionary Force, 
which crossed to France in the early days of the War, was 
a huge army, but our casualties during the first year 
exceeded thrice its whole number. This has brought home 
to us the nature of the tremendous struggle in which we 
are engaged. 

War in simple brutal truth means killing, and it is 
degrading to our common humanity that, after all these 
centuries of Christianity, we can find no other way of 
settling national quarrels. At the same time a crisis may 
arise, when there is no alternative to a free people but the 
arbitrament of the sword, and when failure to defend their 
rights would entail infinitely greater misery and degradation 
than War. As a people we hold with deepest conviction 
that we have had to face such a crisis, and that there was 
only one possible solution for us. 

The world has prided itself, that with the advance of 
civilization the worst horrors of war were being mitigated, 
and this belief was supported by Geneva Conventions, 
Hague Peace Conferences, and what may be termed the 
general conscience of mankind. Enough misery would still 
remain in any case — the killing, wounding, and capture of 
combatants, and the destruction of enemy property, with 
all the attendant suffering it entailed. 

It has, however, been left to Germany to show the 
world that, for ruthless savagery and bloodthirstiness, she 
has created a record in the history of the nations, which 
can surely never be approached. Never has there been 
such a shameless and cynical manifestation of the claim, 
that the power to kill confers the right to rule. With 

15 



War. 

contemptuous indifference to treaties by which she had 
bound herself, and to the opinion of the civilized world, 
she set in motion the military machine which she had 
perfected, and openly avowed that she would crush beneath 
her iron heel all who dared to resist her. 

Her watchwords were murder and plunder, and when she 
wreaked her vengeance on Belgium for daring to defend 
herself, her soldiery, ready to give their worst passions 
rein, were encouraged and exhorted by official orders to 
kill not only combatants, but non-combatants, old men, 
women, and children, without distinction and without 
mercy. Fiendish cruelty was indulged in, and bestiality 
too loathsome to speak of, which will for ever brand the 
German name with infamy. We may realize from Belgium's 
agony what we, or rather our women-folk, would have 
suffered had the Germans ever succeeded in gaining a foot- 
ing on our shores. 

As far as property was concerned it may be stated in 
few words, that what the Germans could not plunder or 
utilize they destroyed, and they gave little thought to the 
inhabitants who were left, many of whom would have 
perished but for the splendid generosity of the United 
States. 

As time went on, in every quarter of the globe proofs 
began to accumulate, that for years Germany had made the 
most careful preparation for the fateful day. Wherever 
by plotting or treachery anything could be done to strike 
a blow at Britain, or paralyse her strength, it was done — 
not always, it is true, with the success anticipated or 
commensurate with the cost. Money was freely spent ; 
conspirators and adventurers were employed on a lavish 
scale and officially, if not openly, recognized. The vast 
network was spread over the globe, and yet of all people, 
we are only just beginning, after nearly two years of War, 
to realize that the system has had wide ramifications in 

16 



War. 

our land. We have hardly seemed to recognize that we 
are in very truth at war with ruthless and unscrupulous 
foes, resolved to stop at nothing that would serve their 
purpose of crushing us as a nation and reducing us to the 
position of slaves. Had our Government realized this, 
they ought surely to have arrested and interned at once 
every enemy subject throughout the Empire, and put 
every naturalized individual of enemy origin under strict 
surveillance. No enemy subject ought to have been 
allowed to earn one penny in this country, and all property 
belonging to enemy aliens should have been vested in the 
Public Trustee, to be dealt with later as might be deter- 
mined. It might have formed a fund for making good 
the losses suffered by civilians through bombardments, 
air craft raids, and submarine outrages. No misguided 
leniency has been shown to British subjects in Germany. 

We were surely justified too in making the fullest use 
of our sea power, to prevent Germany obtaining supplies 
which were necessary to her for carrying on the War, 
but our Blockade has been half-hearted, and our Contra- 
band regulations bewildering. We have of course been 
hampered by the colossal stupidity of our action in con- 
nection with the Declaration of London, and we are now 
beginning to understand the debt we owe to Mr. Gibson 
Bowles for his courageous and far-seeing action in resolutely 
opposing its ratification. The nation is confident that the 
Navy could have dealt with the question, had the Govern- 
ment allowed it, but for some unrevealed reason its power 
has been strangely curbed. 

This War is waged under conditions which render 
precedents of little value. The means of communication 
between countries are totally different now from what 
they were even sixty years ago, and goods for our enemies 
have flowed freely into Germany by several channels. 
Besides, how futile it is to permit say 1,000 tons of a 

n 



War. 

contraband commodity to enter a neighbouring neutral 
State, even with the strictest guarantee that it will be con- 
sumed within that State, and not forwarded to the enemy, 
when it is well known the State in question can supply to 
the enemy iooo tons of the same commodity of its own 
production or manufacture, which in the ordinary course 
would have been consumed within its own borders ! 

Sir Edward Grey has solemnly warned us of the serious 
complications with neutrals, which would ensue if we 
enforced a rigorous blockade and a strict contraband list, 
but although in the last resort the Allies could face the 
hostility of neutrals, the situation could have been met by 
judicious expenditure. One month's cost of the War 
would have paid for all the Cotton, Copper, and Iron Ore 
which Germany has obtained from overseas, and who can 
say what the stoppage of these would have saved the Allies 
in both men and money ? 

In the matter of Trading with the Enemy the same 
indecision and slackness have been only too apparent. 
Proclamations, orders, and regulations have been bewil- 
dering, and our touching faith in documents, issued as a 
rule in complete ignorance of actual conditions, has had 
the result of providing the enemy, often through British 
channels, with valuable supplies of minerals and other 
products of vital importance for War purposes. 

War may purify a nation, but it is the Crime of Crimes, 
and we can but trust that the experience of this War and 
the awakened conscience of mankind will make war un- 
thinkable in the days to come. 



18 



The Conduct of the War. 

IT has been said that no democracy can conduct a successful 
war, and in comparison with an enemy, whose forces 
are controlled by a ruler wielding absolute power, it is 
unquestionably handicapped. 

The Government at the outset of the War acted with 
courage and decision in mobilizing our Fleet, and in 
despatching the Expeditionary Force to France, but since 
those early days we have little to look back upon with pride, 
excepting perhaps the Battle of the Falklands Islands. We 
are justly proud of the work of our Navy, which has upheld 
its splendid traditions, but we feel that it could have done 
more had it not been held in check by Ministers. 

We are equally proud of the gallantry and heroism of 
our soldiers, but although we have carried on campaigns 
in many lands, our record can only be described as disap- 
pointing. We have really nothing to our credit beyond 
General Botha's conquest of German South West Africa. 

It would be mere folly to shut our eyes to the series of 
dismal failures : the Antwerp Expedition, the attempt to cap- 
ture Constantinople via Gallipoli, the tragedy of Serbia, and 
the Mesopotamia campaign. The first of these was admit- 
tedly to serve an important purpose, inasmuch as it was vital 
to hearten Belgium at that moment, and to delay the German 
advance. The Gallipoli and Mesopotamia expeditions had 
objectives of the highest military and political value, the 
attainment of which would have materially influenced the 
War, but we committed the two fatal errors of underesti- 
mating the enemy and being too late ; and the same may be 
said of our failure to helpSerbia. Inaddition,we have had to 
pay the penalty of our ignorance or neglect of geographical 
and local conditions. As regards both Gallipoli and Mesopo- 
tamia our political leaders hoped for a spectacular success, 
which would have restored some of their lost credit. 



l 9 



The Conduct of the War. 

The whole conduct of the War has been vitiated by the 
nerveless and indecisive action of the Government, and 
our diplomacy has shown the same fatal defect. Sir 
Edward Grey has enjoyed the confidence and respect of 
the whole nation, but as time went on he seemed to be 
outwitted by our enemies at every turn. We lost a golden 
opportunity by not following the Goeben and Breslau 
through the Dardanelles, when we could have taken the 
necessary measures to keep the Straits open, and it is 
difficult to overestimate the supreme value of such a step. 
It is a mournful catalogue: the defection to Germany of 
Turkey and Bulgaria ; the hostile neutrality of Greece ; the 
devastation of Serbia and Montenegro. Shall we have to 
add Rumania to the list of our enemies ? 

Diplomacy enjoys an immemorial tradition of secrecy, 
but it is worth considering whether, under the conditions 
existing to-day, it would not be wiser, and in the end make 
for peace, if the nation were really enlightened and had 
the plain issues put before it, when any grave question 
arose that might involve it in war. This course is followed 
in the United States, and the writer firmly believes that in 
future the whole Empire will insist upon it, and will not 
tolerate a policy of drift leading to disaster. What might 
we not have been saved, had we known at the time of the 
demands made on us by Germany eighteen months before 
the War, when she asked us to give her a free hand to 
crush France ? And how came it that that warning was 
neglected by those entrusted with the destinies of the 
nation ? It seems unthinkable now that at that very time 
they should have discouraged and discredited Lord Roberts, 
while devoting themselves to measures of internal policy 
that roused fierce political passions. 

Lord Kitchener stood outside party, and the nation 
gratefully recognizes his services in creating and organizing 
the New Army. The response made by the nation has 

20 



The Conduct of the War. 

been magnificent, but as demands increased, it was clear 
that the voluntary system would not suffice. It is not too 
much to say that, at any time since the commencement of 
the War, the Government had only to put the issue clearly 
before the nation to obtain all the men required on the 
basis of equal service and sacrifice by all. Our haphazard 
and halting expedients have only prolonged the War and 
puzzled our Allies, but the Government has at long last 
been forced into the right path, and the nation looks to it 
to act now with vigour and decision. 

In the matter of Munitions, not even the highest expert 
could have foreseen the enormous quantities that have 
been used in the War, but here again the Government 
were guilty of culpable negligence in their delay in facing 
the problem. It was only the strong patriotic line, so fear- 
lessly taken by The Times, that averted grave disaster, and 
led to the appointment as Minister of Munitions of 
Mr. Lloyd George, the one man who has shown real 
energy and decision. 

Similar action is eagerly awaited in the equally important 
question of our Air Service, which must be reconstituted 
and vitalized as an independent unit. The rivalry of its 
two branches, the Naval and the Military, has long and 
seriously impeded its development. The Zeppelin Raids 
have at last brought home to the nation the supreme 
importance of Air Craft, and it may not be too much to 
hope that the Government will be less tardy than usual in 
carrying out its demands. 

Reviewing the conduct of the War as a whole, the fatal 
defect has been that it has been conducted by an unwieldly 
Committee of politicians, whose differences have been dex- 
terously composed, but who have had no firm guiding hand. 
This has led to a want of co-ordination and responsibility, 
which has been revealed in every direction, and has been 
at the root of all our failures. Our imperative need has 

21 



The Conduct of the War. 

been a War Council composed of a few men of energy and 
determination, free from all departmental responsibility, 
and devoting themselves entirely to the conduct of the 
War. The nation knows that it can win the War, it is 
determined to win, and if the present Government cannot 
give better proofs of ability, it will find men who can. 



22 



Nationality. 



I"N the reaction which swept over Europe after the 
-*■ Napoleonic Wars the spirit of Nationality awoke again, 
and nations which, under a deadening foreign yoke, seemed 
to have forgotten the glory of their race, rose from the 
slumber of centuries. 

Britain can always recall with pride the sympathy and 
help she gave to both Greece and Italy in their wonderful 
resurrection. We realize now the mistakes made in allow- 
ing Schleswig-Holstein to be torn from Denmark, and 
Alsace-Lorraine from France, as we also understand the 
crime of the partition of Poland. We have sympathized 
with the struggles of the Balkan States to free themselves 
from the Turkish yoke, although with our sympathy there 
has mingled a feeling of uneasiness as to whether they 
were really ripe for, and worthy of, self-government. 

The War has intensified the spirit of Nationality, and 
it is recognized that the smaller nations have a right to 
their individual existence as free communities, that in the 
enjoyment of this freedom they can contribute most to 
the common welfare of mankind, and that they constitute 
surer guarantees of peace than leagues or empires com- 
posed of separate states held together by military power. 

At the close of the War, Nationality will be one of the 
burning factors in the final settlement, and the smaller 
nations must be dealt with on generous lines. Belgium, 
Alsace-Lorraine, Poland, Serbia, Greece, Rumania, and the 
Slav and Italian territories of Austria-Hungary, to say 
nothing of Schleswig-Holstein and Bohemia, show the 
magnitude of the problem; but, if it is to be solved on 
a just and enduring basis, national life, national spirit, 
national character must be preserved, so that each nation 
may develop on its own lines. 

In some parts of Europe races and creeds are so inter- 

23 



Nationality. 

mingled that it would be impossible to form from the 
various elements a self-governing nation. It is therefore 
incumbent on the Allied Powers to fix proper guarantees 
and safeguards, in all such cases, for the fullest civil and 
religious liberty of all minorities, consistent with their 
loyalty to the State of which they form a part. An ideal 
settlement is impossible, but we must assure a workable 
compromise, sufficiently tolerant to assuage the memory 
of old bitterness and hatred, and to bring all elements in 
time into a realization of united national life. 

The danger to small nationalities which has been exem- 
plified by this War is that, if they are politically subject to 
another Power, the people must go as conscripts to swell 
the fighting force of that Power, and on an extended scale 
this becomes a menace to the peace of the world. 

As a nation we have always recognized a special re- 
sponsibility to protect the rights of smaller nations. We 
must justify and fulfil the sacred trust reposed in us, ever 
remembering that Nationality is the root of Patriotism. 



24 



Internationalism. 

AS the spirit of Nationality has grown, and as education 
■*• has spread, so there has arisen a spirit of Interna- 
tionalism, which in its highest form is an expression of 
faith in the Universal Brotherhood of Man. It has its 
root in our noblest instincts, and to that extent is entitled 
to all sympathy and respect. But we must sadly recognize 
its limitations in a world where war is possible. It is hardly 
to be wondered at that so attractive a doctrine made many 
converts, and in all countries where liberty is a living 
force, men were found who rated their duty to their native 
land lower than what they deemed their duty to humanity 
in general. A few were idealists pure and simple, some 
were swayed by intellectual pride, and many were merely 
cranks and faddists, just sufficiently educated to see the 
injustice inherent in present-day civilization, and possessing 
vague ideas as to the remedies required. We have had our 
experience of the friends of every country but their own, 
men who are so determined to be impartial that they must 
take the side of our enemies; and even if they are few in 
number, they cause some injury by their assumption of 
superiority. The War has apparently swept them into 
oblivion in other countries, but we still tolerate the species. 
The most dangerous class however is the comparatively 
large number of persons in this country, whose material 
interests would suffer by restriction of German trade — 
cosmopolitan financiers and the like, who are quietly work- 
ing for a return to the old conditions, and who would be 
quite ready to close the whole episode of the War by the 
acceptance of Germany's simulated expressions of regret. 
Such individuals represent a danger of the most insidious 
and deadly nature, against which we must be on our guard, 
with the firm determination that national interests alone 
shall be considered and safeguarded. The assumption of 
Internationalism or Cosmopolitanism is too often merely 
a mask to cover personal profit and advancement. 

25 






Our Enemy. 



IN this War of nations we know that we have really only 
one enemy, whose power for evil must be crushed. 
The others are but satellites, whose forces are a valuable 
aid to Germany, but who will disintegrate and collapse 
when the Allies exert the all-round pressure, which will 
mark the beginning of the end. 

We are genuinely sorry to find Turkey in the ranks of 
our foes, but we have compensation in the knowledge that 
her long and cruel domination over the Christian peoples of 
South Eastern Europe and Armenia is drawing to a close. 
She has held Constantinople for nearly five centuries, and 
although it was once a cardinal principle of our foreign 
policy that Russia should not possess it, we hold different 
views since the unmasking of Germany's ambitions. 

As for Austria-Hungary, we have always had a some- 
what sentimental feeling of regard for the Hungarian 
people, coupled with a feeling of indifference for Austria. 
Of late years we have been better informed as to her treat- 
ment of the subject races incorporated in her unwieldy 
empire, and we must see that as one of the results of the 
War their lot is improved. 

Of Bulgaria our chief concern is that her well-trained 
army counts on the side of Germany. Under a degenerate 
ruler, blinded by ambition, and unworthy of his descent 
from the Kings of France, she has proved false and treach- 
erous to her liberator. To Russia she owes her indepen- 
dence, which she has not enjoyed long enough, to enable 
her to rise superior to the cruel and primitive passions of a 
race only just rescued from the bondage of the hated Turk. 
She will be fortunate if she escapes the utter effacement 
she has earned, but her people will doubtless be treated 
with a generosity that could not be accorded to the ruler 
who has led her to her ruin. 

26 



Our Enemy — Germany. 

In the early days of the War many of us were inclined 
to the view, that the German people had not desired war, 
but that it had been engineered by the military and official 
cliques. We soon realized our mistake and understood 
that the whole country was heart and soul in the conflict, 
if indeed they had not planned it and worked for it for 
years. We were indeed completely at fault in our estimate 
and judgment of the German people. 

The struggles of the German States to become a United 
Empire were regarded in this country with considerable 
sympathy, which was extended later to their efforts to 
found a Colonial Empire. Success, however, and the won- 
derful material prosperity, which followed the War of 1 870, 
caused other nations to overlook the deceit and treachery 
with which Germany had prepared both that war and the 
previous wars against Denmark and Austria. 

In embarking on a deliberate policy aiming at world 
dominion, the first stage was for Germany to make her 
Army the most powerful military engine that had yet 
existed. The second was the formation of a Navy, that 
was to be formidable enough to challenge Britain's supre- 
macy of the Seas, and, to justify this in some measure, she 
acquired or took possession of large tracts of land over- 
seas, mostly in Africa, which she professed to colonize. 
These were not colonies in our sense of the term, but 
rather military stations, with a sprinkling of settlers who 
developed the land by using the native races as slaves. 

Germany realized betimes the importance of creating a 
Merchant Navy; she spared no pains to extend it, and she 
sent her ships to compete in every trade. She afforded aid 
to this industry in every conceivable way, ranging from 
subventions to diplomatic representations, and insistent 
demands on other nations for the grant of special privi- 
leges. 

The military power of Germany enabled her to enforce 

27 



Our Enemy. 

her demands, and each concession only whetted her appe- 
tite for more. Every nation in turn yielded to her wishes 
rather than run the risk of war, and it was only in excep- 
tional cases, where surrender meant humiliation, that we 
ventured to oppose her aims, as in the Agadir incident. 
Even then, owing to her autocratic form of government, 
she was able to press matters to a point that would have 
been impossible in a free country, and to withdraw from a 
difficult position without loss of prestige. This incident 
served to inflame her people, who were told that the national 
dignity had been outraged by Britain, and that in every 
direction the expansion, which was their right, was thwarted 
by this country. 

Before the War of 1870 Germany was a poor and back- 
ward nation, and, as so often happens in the lives of 
individuals, she could not stand the wave of abnormal 
prosperity which followed in the succeeding years. The 
turn of Fortune's wheel was too much for her people, and 
they assumed, as their predestined right, that they were to 
inherit the earth. They saw that Britain barred the way, 
and they determined to crush her. 

In doing so the Germans knew that they would dominate 
Europe, and later the world, obtaining in the process 
boundless wealth through the plunder of Britain and her 
colonies, and satisfying their desire for vengeance on a foe 
whose riches and power they had always envied. If we 
are to guard our land and our people in the future against 
this nation, as we intend to do, we must understand their 
aims in the past, we must destroy the spirit which is a 
menace to us and to other people, and we must provide, 
as far as human foresight can, that German militarism shall 
never again raise its head. 

The German people arrogated to themselves the position 
of a superior race, without whose approval nothing of any 
importance could take place on the face of the globe. 

28 



Our Enemy. 

They put this into practice, and demanded and received 
compensation for according their consent to agreements 
made by other nations. For years they have as a nation 
adopted a pose, originating in military drill and discipline 
(flashing eye, steely look, etc., etc.), intended to impress 
outsiders with a sense of their superiority, but which often 
appealed chiefly to our sense of humour. Unfortunately 
we failed to realize the seriousness and determination that 
lay at the back of it. 

The outstanding features of the German national charac- 
ter, which have been so clearly revealed by the War, are 
treachery and cruelty. Their view of espionage is entirely 
different from that of other nations, by whom it is only 
employed as a necessary precaution. Germany, on the 
contrary, has made espionage an important part of her 
system of government, and her rulers have used it in a 
manner intensely hateful to a nation with any sense of 
honour. The ingenuity with which they provided for 
every emergency was marvellous. Their spies infested 
every country, and the nations, who had never suspected 
such a system, found too late how they had been deceived. 

In every land Germany planted colonies of apparently 
harmless traders, who mingled with the people, obtained 
their confidence, and were treated as honourable men. 
Many became naturalized, but this made no difference to 
the one uniform purpose, which was, to prepare the way 
for Germany to kill and plunder the people who had 
trusted her. 

It is the peculiar mark of the Germans' code of honour 
(or dishonour), that they regard themselves as justified in 
committing — nay, that it is laudable for them to commit — 
any deed, however treacherous or brutal in the eyes of 
other men, provided they are themselves satisfied that it is 
for the benefit of the Fatherland. From this it is but a 
short step to lay down the doctrine that, in their relations 

29 



Our Enemy. 

with the people of other countries, no German can commit 
a crime or do any wrong. Starting from this basis, it follows 
that no charge of outrage or inhuman conduct against 
German soldiers can be credited by any German, for no 
German is capable of such conduct. If witnesses are 
produced to substantiate the charge, they are treated as 
prejudiced and their evidence as tainted. If even the 
actual victims were produced, the Germans would merely 
reply that the story was false, or that the crime had been 
committed by their enemies to blacken them. According 
to their own ideas they have committed no submarine 
outrages, for the simple reason that every ship torpedoed 
without warning would, in the opinion of the German 
naval officers, have attacked or rammed the submarine if 
it had been allowed the opportunity. 

It is difficult to deal with a nation in such a frame of 
mind — swollen with arrogance, believing themselves to be 
inspired by high ideals, and to enjoy the favour of the 
Almighty ; a people engaged in deadly earnest on their task 
of imposing on other nations by brute force a supremacy, 
which would give them unchallengeable political power 
and immense material wealth, while granting to the subject 
nations the priceless gift of their wondrous Kultur ! 

And what is the history and record of this race ? It is 
startling to recall that little more than a century ago they 
were really serfs, and were sold in regiments by their rulers 
to fight as foreign mercenaries. There is little in their 
history to look back upon with pride — no sign of national 
spirit, few of the traditions of freedom and heroism, such 
as other races possess. They were dragooned by a discipline, 
which drove numbers to emigrate, and they attained to a 
political union which could only have been brought about 
by Bismarck's policy of Blood and Iron. The cult of 
physical force came at a time, when science placed within 
their reach tremendous forces of destruction, and they 

30 



Our Enemy. 

hailed the ruthless application of these for the attainment 
of their end. 

Unfortunately other nations committed the error (and 
we are not the least guilty) of taking them at their own 
valuation, while at the same time underestimating both 
their power and their desire to injure. In every branch 
of science, in art, in literature, even in theology, their 
achievements were magnified until all sense of proportion 
was lost, and every theory propounded by a German pro- 
fessor was hailed as gospel and the embodiment of wisdom. 

The world was asked to look with wonder and admira- 
tion on their industries, in which, owing partly to their 
military discipline and partly to their success in picking 
the brains of other peoples, they have established a system 
of organization and efficiency, which it would be difficult 
to surpass, and which, it must be admitted, has proved in 
most respects superior to that of ourselves and our Allies. 

But the system is a hard and soulless thing — a machine 
without human feeling, which breaks down badly when it 
has to deal with any problem requiring sympathy or com- 
passion for the weak. For instance, the rate of Infant 
Mortality in Germany is twice as high as with us, although 
we now recognize that our rate can and ought to be 
appreciably reduced. The conditions also, under which the 
lower classes exist in Berlin and other large cities, are con- 
ducive to neither health nor morality. If we strive to emu- 
late Germany's organization and efficiency in industries, let 
us not, in the blind pursuit of wealth, forget the higher 
attributes of humanity — character, truth, and honour. We 
cannot barter our soul for the efficiency of a machine. 

Every device and invention that science could place at 
Germany's disposal was carefully utilized for the supreme 
purpose of war, which to her meant simply the destruc- 
tion of her enemies, no matter by what foul means that 
end was attained. Of set purpose she laid her plans to 

3i 



Our Enemy. 

wage war with such frightfulness and unimagined atrocity, 
that she believed her foes, after a short experience, would 
submit rather than continue to endure such horrors. In 
this she showed how profoundly she misunderstood the 
character of other nations, on whom the impression left 
is only one of undying hatred and loathing. 

If we could leave out of account the madness which has 
dominated the German people and become an obsession, 
we would all admit that they possess some excellent quali- 
ties, and we could even perhaps admire their homeliness, 
the organization of their civic life, their industry, and 
their intense national spirit. 

Just as, in spite of the final defeat of France in the 
Napoleonic Wars, the principles of Liberty and the Rights 
of Man (the vindication of which was the cause of the 
French Revolution) exercised a profound influence through- 
out the nineteenth century, so it is probable that in the 
twentieth Germany's ideas of organization, thoroughness, 
and efficiency will afford some compensation for her 
crimes. These qualities have brought her people material 
prosperity, but beyond this and military power they have 
little to their credit. Character is indefinable, but we know 
that it represents qualities, which as a race Germans neither 
possess nor understand. 

The Kaiser has boasted that the Germans are the most 
moral nation on earth, and his people have followed him 
in claiming that they are infinitely superior to every other 
race. How fantastic are such claims is clear to all who 
know the real social conditions of Germany, even as re- 
vealed by her own official statistics. If we consider crimes 
of passion and lust, we are appalled at the German figures. 
Can any man of our race regard without loathing the 
debasement inherent in men, who can form associations 
to protect the fathers of illegitimate children ? 

And this is the race which, under God's guidance, was 

3 2 



Our Enemy. 

to carve with its sword the bloody path, strewn with the 
bodies of murdered children and outraged women, which 
was to lead to the Kultur that would uplift the nations, and 
instil fresh inspiration into the outworn creeds of humanity! 
— that Kultur, of which we still await some definition, that 
will not offend the ears and nauseate the minds of decent 
men and women. Surely this race has plumbed the depths 
of infamy. They dreamed that they had produced demi- 
gods ; they have merely evolved the super-brute. 

As might readily be expected, the German people have no 
more regard for truth than for any other moral obligation, 
and their one rule in public affairs is, that all official news is 
to be implicitly believed, with all the favourable conclusions 
which theofficials consider themselves justified in extracting 
from every incident. It is impossible for us, with our insti- 
tutions, to understand public opinion of such a nature, until 
we remember, that it has been formed in militarism under 
professors who are purely officials, and developed by a 
reptile Press wholly subservient to the official clique. 

We may have erred in omission by keeping back news 
from the knowledge of our people, but Germany has com- 
mitted the crime of falsifying and inventing news, such as 
her accounts of the damage done by her Zeppelins, and 
the stories of the appalling state of terror into which their 
visits have thrown us. The peculiar mentality of the 
Germans renders them easy victims of official lies and in- 
ventions, and although these may increase their enthusiasm 
for the moment, the reaction will be the greater when the 
truth becomes known. 

There have been repeated reports from Germany of short- 
age, or approaching shortage, of food, but not the least re- 
liance can be placed on anything emanating from that source, 
and we must simply ignore such reports. Germany must 
be beaten, and her power crushed on the battlefield, not by 
famine. At the same time our Blockade must be rigorously 

33 



Our Enemy. 

applied, even to the length of causing acute distress and 
starvation. No country, least of all Germany, has allowed 
such considerations to stand in the way of military neces- 
sities, and the fate of Paris in 1870 is sufficient answer to 
any German plea on humanitarian grounds. 

The German people must experience the march of a 
hostile army through their land, and know something of 
the horrors they have inflicted on others, although the 
Allies can never approach the standard of pillage and 
rapine which Germany has set up. Not only the German 
race, but the whole world, must know how this "War is 
ended, and realize that due retribution has been meted out 
to those who plotted and committed the hideous crime. 
This will come when Belgium's King rides through Berlin 
at the head of the Allied troops. 

It will be our duty to our Allies to see that all the 
machinery and material wealth pillaged from Belgium, 
France, and Russia, and removed to Germany, are restored 
to those countries or made good in kind by Germany, for 
it would be monstrous and ruinous, to leave her in posses- 
sion of such means of production, to be utilized against the 
Allies. This is quite apart from the question of replenish- 
ing the ravaged lands with the manufactures, which she has 
been accumulating during the War. 

Germany has openly proclaimed her contempt of public 
law and her own word, and she has shown that she knows 
no law but her own lust of power. This must never be 
overlooked or forgotten, when terms of Peace are imposed 
upon her by the Allies. It is not for them to interfere in 
the purely internal affairs of Germany; it is for her people 
to work out their own form or forms of government, and 
to develop their national life, but they can only be admit- 
ted to the comity of nations, when they have atoned for 
their crimes and regained the confidence they have abused 
and forfeited. 



34 



Britain Beyond the Seas. 

AS the union of the United States was accomplished 
-**- through a terrible ordeal of fire and blood, so our 
Empire is being cemented by the blood of her sons from 
every land where the flag of Britain flies ; but happier than 
the States, although the conflict is a mightier one, we are 
not divided, but standing shoulder to shoulder against the 
enemy of our race. 

In the stress of war, we are able to realize the tremen- 
dous importance of the awakening of the daughter nations, 
and their rally to the Motherland, an event unique in the 
history of the world, and destined to have an abiding in- 
fluence upon it. A few years ago the idea that Canada, 
Australia, and New Zealand could, of their own free will, 
raise an army of a million men would have roused an in- 
credulous scorn, but the heart of our people across the Seas 
was sound. They realized with sure instinct the peril that 
was not only Britain's but theirs, and they have pledged 
themselves, to their last man and their last shilling, to stand 
by the Motherland. They have indeed made good, as we 
knew they would, and their magnificent response to 
Germany's insolent challenge has thrilled us with pride. 
As was only natural and right, no question has been raised 
as to our diplomacy, our conduct of the War, or even the 
apportionment of the financial burdens entailed. The 
Dominions left these matters to the Motherland, content 
that she should act, and acquiescing absolutely in her un- 
fettered conduct of the War. By their sacrifices however, 
they have proved their right to assume that place in the 
fabric of Empire, which is their due, and which can no 
longer be denied them. 

One of our most cherished principles is, that taxation and 
representation go together. The Dominions have taxed 
themselves for the War ; they will meet in future their 

35 



Britain Beyond the Seas. 

share of the cost of safeguarding the Empire, which, while 
they were growing up, was the concern of the Motherland 
alone ; and they will be represented in the councils of the 
Empire, so that they may share the responsibility for its 
welfare. We are all one on this point, and it only remains 
to find the best means of attaining the desired end. 

A study of the constitution of the United States will 
assist us to realize, how a number of independent States can 
be knit into one organic whole, on the basis of the abolition 
of trade restrictions or customs duties within its borders, 
coupled with combined action and single direction in all 
matters of foreign policy. There are difficulties in the way 
of attaining this ideal, but those can and will be overcome, 
for its achievement is of more vital importance to each, 
than any local consideration which might exert a contrary 
influence. 

The Dominions will understand the necessity of sur- 
rendering something, even, if it should be necessary, to the 
extent of establishing Free Trade within the Empire, for as 
partners with us they would receive something infinitely 
greater in return. 

In any case the Empire's internal arrangements are her 
own business, and no outside interests are concerned, or 
need be consulted, in deciding whether any particular in- 
dustry should be fostered, or any products and resources 
reserved for national use. If we rise to the opportunity, we 
shall weld into one Empire, on a firm and lasting basis, all 
lands owning the British Flag, under a system of Govern- 
ment in which all are represented. 

But the measures to effect this must be prepared in time, 
and be ready to be applied and enforced without a moment's 
delay ; hence the vital necessity of frank consultation be- 
tween all and a common understanding. We cannot afford 
to go along gaily on the old road of laissez /aire, avoiding 
difficulties and deluding ourselves in the belief that they 

36 



Britain Beyond the Seas. 

do not exist. That way spells failure. We must act as one 
nation in laying down the conditions and safeguards, which 
are vital to our national life. We must have a common 
understanding (embodied in legislation) on all such ques- 
tions as the immigration and settlement of aliens, the con- 
ditions under which they may reside, trade, and become 
naturalized within the Empire, and the duties to be levied 
on foreign imports. The Dominions (and in particular 
Australia) have shown themselves more alive to the German 
menace, and more prepared to deal with it, than the Mother 
Country, or rather than the Cabinet, who have lagged be- 
hind in translating into action the feelings and desires of 
the people. 

In the settlement after the War, which must mould our 
destiny for generations to come, the welfare and security of 
the Empire as a whole must be the only guiding principle. 
The Dominions however form an important and increasing 
part of the Empire. They are so vitally interested in the 
settlement, and they have made such sacrifices, that they 
must take their rightful share of the negotiations for, and the 
responsibilities of, that settlement. They are more nearly 
concerned in the colonial possessions of foreign countries, 
more particularly those of Germany, than we have always 
realized, and the opportunity is now coming of meeting 
their views. 

In India the War will tend to accelerate the solution of 
many difficult problems. In recognizing the splendid help 
she has given, we can have no hesitation in according to 
her peoples a larger share of self-government, which, if 
gradually extended in a statesmanlike spirit, will draw closer 
the bonds of loyalty and affection for the Mother Country. 
We must bear in mind that, as in all oriental countries, 
the magnetism of personal attachment and loyalty counts 
for much. Our rule in India is one of the finest achieve- 
ments of our race, and when we realize, how small in number 

37 



Britain Beyond the Seas. 

is the band of our countrymen who uphold the prestige of 
Britain, we must appreciate the power of the personal 
element. Each man feels that he represents the good name 
of our people, and that it stands for justice and truth. Let 
us pay tribute also to the loyalty and help of the ruling 
princes, who have given us proofs that they are worthy of 
taking their place in the new order which is coming. 

The Crown Colonies have also responded nobly in men 
and money, and means will assuredly be found to satisfy 
their legitimate aspirations, especially as regards the de- 
velopment of their resources. They are justly proud of 
contributing their share to the strength of a United Empire. 

In several directions there will be difficult minor ques- 
tions to solve, some of which have been gradually coming 
to a head. For instance, there is the vexed question of 
Income Tax, which under present conditions is often levied 
twice within the Empire on the same income. There have 
been cases too in which capital here has been invested in 
railways or other enterprises in the Dominions, but which, 
after the initial risky stage has been passed, has hardly 
been treated with the fairness which we think might reason- 
ably be expected. Everything of this nature must be 
looked at from a broad point of view, with regard only to 
justice and imperial goodwill, and some expeditious and 
inexpensive system of Arbitration might be set up to deal 
with difficult cases. 

It must be the chief care of the Empire to develop the 
resources of every part, and stimulate production and enter- 
prise. In the general interest it may even be found ex- 
pedient to place an export duty on some of the products 
of the Empire, or even to prohibit their export altogether. 
As a united Empire our resources in Peace as in War are 
illimitable, and we have the opportunity now of placing 
our Imperial interests on foundations which will endure 
for generations. 

38 



Our Allies. 

IN forming a right judgment on the efforts and contri- 
butions to the common cause made by each of the 
Allies, it is imperative to bear in mind the devastation of 
their country that nearly all have suffered. In our seagirt 
land, which we have grown up to regard as immune from 
invasion, it is difficult for us as a nation to enter into the 
feelings of those who have endured such horrors as have 
been witnessed in Belgium, France, Serbia, Montenegro, 
Poland, and Russia. 

France felt through every fibre that the War meant a 
struggle for existence with her bitterest enemy, and her 
people resolved to die to the last man rather than accept 
defeat and humiliation. On the outbreak of war a spasm 
of terror ran through the land, but as summer breeze 
through ripening corn it passed. In that hour of agony 
France was reborn ; she found her soul, and rose to heights 
she had never reached in all her glorious past — heights 
which only those amongst us, who had faith, believed that 
she could gain. The spirit of France awoke, and the splen- 
did traditions of her history have fired a race, whose pas- 
sionate love of Freedom has ever been an inspiration to 
other lands. 

Russia we have never really known ; but the War has 
revealed to us the strength and character of her people, so 
strikingly shown in her treatment of the drink question — 
their patience, loyalty, deep religious feeling, and spirit of 
brotherhood. Her progress and prosperity have long been 
retarded by want of access to the sea, and one result of 
the War must be to remove this. Constantinople is her 
natural goal, and it will be a glorious day for her when, 
after the lapse of centuries, Christian worship is again 
celebrated in San Sofia. Nothing to cause us the least 
anxiety can result from her being in possession of the 

39 



Our Allies. 

Dardanelles, and in Asia the immense interests of both 
Russia and Britain need never conflict. 

The share of Italy has not been generally appreciated, 
for the memory of Garibaldi and his fellow-patriots, who 
roused our fathers fifty years ago, has grown dim amongst 
us. It was in keeping with her noble traditions that Italy 
entered the War at a critical moment, without waiting till 
victory was assured, and she has proudly borne her share of 
the common sacrifices. Her immemorial foe had imposed 
on her a frontier that made its defence all but impossible. 
Every point of vantage was held by Austria, and her 
armies were to pour into the fertile plains of Lombardy; 
but with such magnificent skill and courage has our ally 
fought, that after a year of war only the barest strip of 
Italian territory is in the hands of the enemy. Fighting 
under conditions of the utmost disadvantage and hardship, 
in the heart of lofty mountain ranges, she has held up 
large Austrian forces, which would otherwise have been 
employed elsewhere with decisive effect. 

The War has awakened the deepest enthusiasm through- 
out Italy, and the whole nation is fired by the idea of at 
last attaining to the complete union of the race. The 
opportunity has come of freeing from the foreign yoke that 
portion of her people who have for so long been merged 
in the Austrian Empire. 

The record of the agony of Belgium, Serbia, and Monte- 
negro is written in blood, and to the end of time will 
blacken the German name. We can never realize one tithe 
of the awful horror and suffering inflicted on the peoples 
of those lands, and it is our bounden duty, no matter how 
long the War may last, to restore these countries to their 
position of free and independent States. Belgium could 
have purchased immunity by becoming a German pro- 
vince; to her eternal glory she chose the path of honour, 
and her heroic King will live in history as one of the 
noblest figures of our age. 

40 



Our Allies. 

When we are disposed to regard with satisfaction what 
Britain has done and is doing for the common cause, it is 
well that we should think of martyred Belgium, Serbia, 
Montenegro, and Poland ; of France, with her manufac- 
turing districts devastated and occupied by the enemy. 
We should realize the wonderful efficiency of France's 
artillery and air services, and we should never forget that 
this terrible War is being fought out chiefly on her soil. 
Let us pay due homage also to the sacrifices and efforts 
made by Russia and Italy, and let us recognize the valu- 
able help of Japan and Portugal in distant but important 
spheres. Above all let us remember that whatever hospi- 
tality we have been able to extend to our Belgian allies, 
who have been driven to take refuge on our shores, repays 
only part of the debt we owe them as a nation. 

When our Allies are inclined to criticize our efforts, 
we would ask them to reflect on the true meaning of Sea 
Power, when they must admit that without the British 
Fleet none of the other nations, nor all combined, could 
have withstood the German onslaught ; nor without the 
resources of the British Empire could the continuous strain 
of the War be borne. 

We have been slow in realizing the underlying issues 
of the War, for it has not touched our homes as it has 
theirs. Casualty lists and Zeppelin raids have however 
worked a change, and we have at last reached a settlement 
of the recruiting difficulty which has always puzzled our 
Allies. They must however bear in mind that the need 
of an army on such a colossal scale came upon us as a 
shock, and shattered all our preconceived ideas of national 
defence; for neither they nor we ever dreamed of our 
placing five million men under arms. We have supple- 
mented this by organizing a large part of our population for 
making munitions for our Allies as well as ourselves, and 
we have at the same time kept our factories and industries 

4i 



Our Allies. 

going to provide the sinews of war for the common cause. 

Our problem has differed materially from the problems 
of our Allies, but, in spite of deplorable official bungling, 
we have no reason to be dissatisfied with our efforts. The 
financial burden is cheerfully borne by us, but we could 
have eased the position materially for them by stabilizing 
the rates of exchange and regulating rates of freight. 
France, Italy, and Russia cannot understand why the 
exchange should remain so heavily against them, and it 
would have been a striking and generous action if we had, 
at an early period, fixed the rates with these countries at 
figures approximating to the normal. It would have been 
well worth doing, even if it had entailed appreciable loss 
to us, and if it were impossible to do so with sufficient 
safeguards, the reasons should have been clearly stated, so 
that misunderstanding and resentment might have been 
avoided. 

We are blamed in France and Italy for the exceptionally 
high freights that have so seriously affected their industries, 
and we ought to have solved this question long ago, even 
if it also had involved a charge on our national finances. 
The most complete frankness should exist between all the 
Allied nations, and there should be no loophole for mis- 
understanding. It would have been well, if it had been 
realized from the beginning that the common resources 
must be pooled for the attainment of the common aim. 



42 



Neutrals. 

' I "'HE list of neutral Powers has gradually narrowed, 
-*- and it seems probable that in the near future both 
Greece and Rumania will be forced into the conflict. 
Greece would have been on the side of the Allies before 
this, had they acted on bold and resolute lines, affording 
her some reasonable assurance that she would not meet the 
fate of Belgium and Serbia. Without this, she declined to 
face the sacrifice involved, although her national aspira- 
tions and the unity of the Greek race were at stake. 

It would indeed have added fresh lustre to her history 
to have revived the traditions of her ancient glory ; but 
her King, with his profound admiration for military genius, 
was hypnotized by the power of Germany. Every feeling 
of honour should have made him stand by his country's 
engagements to Serbia; and Greece has fallen in the esteem 
of the nations, as Belgium has risen. The Allies must, 
however, as the War progresses, give her people every 
opportunity of redeeming their Ruler's mistakes. 

Rumania, like Greece, has national aspirations to fulfil, 
and the unity of her people to achieve. There are millions 
of her race still under the sway of Austria, and she patiently 
awaits the hour to accomplish their liberation. When the 
Allies have demonstrated their power to deal effectively 
with Germany, Rumania will not be slow to recognize 
that her hour has struck. It only remains for the Allies to 
hasten it. 

The position of some of the other Neutral States has 
also been one of considerable difficulty. Switzerland will 
on no account depart from strict neutrality, unless her 
territory is invaded; and the same may be said of Holland, 
although she must realize that a German victory would 
entail the loss of her independence, and of her colonial 
possessions, within a short period. 

43 



Neutrals. 

The Northern Powers — Denmark, Norway, and Sweden 
— will use every effort to maintain strict neutrality. The 
attitude of Denmark and Norway is, on the whole, sympa- 
thetic towards the Allies, but Sweden is influenced largely 
by jealousy and fear of Russia. Nothing could induce or 
tempt Spain to be other than neutral, connected, as her 
Royal Family is, with both England and Austria. There 
only remains to be considered the most important Neutral 
of all, the United States of America, to which a separate 
chapter is devoted. 

The delicate question of the policy, that should guide us 
in our treatment of Neutrals and their interests, demands 
careful consideration. We must not lay too much stress 
upon our conviction, that we are fighting in defence of 
civilization and all its ideals, and that neutral nations are 
vitally interested in the success of our arms. Rather it is 
incumbent on us to show the fullest consideration for their 
interests, compatible with our own security and our mea- 
sures to defeat the enemy. Subject to those conditions, we 
must not unduly interfere with the commerce of Neutrals, 
although in such a conflict we cannot allow them to trade 
with our enemies, to our serious prejudice and loss, when 
it is in our power to prevent it. 

We are entitled to make the fullest use of our Sea 
Power to win the War, as the Germans are to make use 
of their Land Power. Neutrals are entitled to trade with 
both belligerents, but they are subject to the risk of their 
trade with either being interfered with by the forces of 
the other. 

We can also exercise our right to prohibit the export 
from Britain of any articles which, in our judgment, might 
reach our enemies, or which we consider should be reserved 
for home consumption; but this power must be used with 
due regard to the interests of friendly Neutrals, and with 
a realization of the tendency, that everything of this nature 

44 



Neutrals. 

has to act and react on the general trade of the country. 
The War has brought immense profits to Neutrals, but 
what is to them, at the moment, of monetary importance 
only may be a matter of life and death to us. 



45 



The United States. 

AS a nation we ought to be intensely proud of the 
L United States, and deep down in our natures we 
doubtless are, just as real Americans are proud of their 
English descent. We sometimes fail to remember that 
that country was founded by some of the finest of our 
race — men whose fathers lived in the spacious times of 
Shakespeare and the Armada, and who were themselves 
contemporaries of Cromwell, Hampden, and Milton. 

We know that men of our blood developed the country 
and have guided its destinies throughout, and it is only 
within the last sixty years that there has been an appreciable 
infusion of foreign elements. It is not surprising therefore 
to find Americans cherishing the same ideals as ourselves, 
and devoted like us to the cause of Liberty. If we regard 
Oliver Cromwell as the greatest man of our race of the 
seventeenth century (probably of all time), we are proud 
to think of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as 
the greatest of the eighteenth and nineteenth. 

It must never be forgotten that one of the fundamental 
principles, laid down by the founders of the Republic, was 
that she should keep free from the quarrels of Europe, and 
although the march of events has rendered it impossible 
for any great Power to restrict its interests to its own 
continent, still there is force in the contention that the 
United States should only intervene, when it becomes 
impossible for them as a self-respecting Power to stand 
on one side. 

Most friends of America in this country would have 
rejoiced, if President Wilson had protested against the 
violation of Belgium and the outrages perpetrated by the 
German soldiery; but in taking such a momentous step 
(which must of necessity have been followed up), the pro- 
testing Power requires to be in possession of absolutely 

46 



The United States. 

convincing evidence, from the strictly legal point of view, 
to justify its action. In common fairness it cannot be said 
that America was in that position, however strongly we 
may feel that the crimes were proved up to the hilt. 

President Wilson, a man of the highest personal charac- 
ter, has had a supremely difficult task, for we are apt to 
forget that the United States are a federation of forty- 
eight States, each with its own Governor and Legislature, 
and intensely jealous of its own rights. The German ele- 
ment, although considerable in numbers and influence, 
cannot intimidate him, and he is quite prepared to deal 
faithfully and resolutely with it. 

America was not concerned in the causes of the War ; 
her material interests were not affected, nor was she bound 
by treaty obligations. Those who think that, on humani- 
tarian grounds, she should have incurred the terrible sacri- 
fices involved in declaring war, should reflect on our attitude 
when Armenian men, women, and children were merci- 
lessly butchered a few years ago, or on the arguments of 
the faction who advocated that we should ourselves stand 
aside in this War, if Germany refrained from violating 
Belgium. If there could be any question as to the path 
which honour, duty, and national interest commanded us 
to follow in those fateful hours in August, 1914, how can 
we blame the United States for going to the utmost limit 
to avoid being drawn into the conflict? 

During the War we have taken no pains to see that our 
views were communicated to the American people ; we 
have kept back news unfavourable to us, which in due 
course reached them in a distorted form from enemy 
sources; and we have done our utmost to prevent their 
journalistic representatives here from knowing the actual 
truth or transmitting it to the States. Time has naturally 
redressed these blunders, and in spite of every conceivable 
obstacle the feeling of sympathy with us and our Allies 

47 



The United States. 

has grown. Enthusiastic meetings have been held in New 
York and other cities, but no report of these has been 
allowed to appear on this side. 

It has been well said that there can be no neutrality 
between right and wrong; and although we could not ask 
the United States to deviate from an attitude of strict 
neutrality, we should have appreciated sympathy in place 
of the aloofness and impartiality, which President Wilson 
has thought it his duty to assume. He is so intent on 
avoiding even the appearance of racial or moral sympathy, 
that he has lumped the Allies and their enemies together 
in one severe condemnation, as waging war in a state of 
frenzy that obliterates all moral and humane instincts. 

The close traditional friendship between America and 
France should have saved our Ally from a charge of this 
nature, while as regards ourselves the President has abso- 
lutely nothing to justify it, and moreover knows by the 
blood in his own veins that it cannot be true. He seems 
almost to be the slave of phrases, and fearful that Germany 
will regard him as partial, unless he constantly proclaims 
his impartiality. 

From some points of view it would have been well for 
both Europe and themselves, had the United States joined 
the Allies, but they must bear in mind that there never 
has been a war (not even their own Civil War), of which 
it could more truly be said, that only those who have par- 
ticipated in the conflict will take part in the settlement. 
It is for America to decide ; if she stands aloof we shall 
not complain. It is possible that some of her people may 
regard the increased material prosperity of their country, 
as sufficient compensation for any loss of esteem and 
weight in the councils of the nations, which neutrality may 
entail, but considerations of this nature cannot affect men 
of our race. 

Perhaps at some future date America may lend her power 

48 



The United States. 

and influence to aid us in establishing a wider Peace, em- 
bracing all nations and rendering impossible a repetition 
of the crime which Germany has committed. By co-oper- 
ating in that beneficent work she will find scope for her 
high ideals, but she must be prepared, like other nations, 
to face whatever cost may be involved in rendering her 
action effective. 

In any case let there be a truce to those sarcastic refer- 
ences to the attitude of the United States, due to ignor- 
ance and prejudice, whose sole object is to create and keep 
alive an unworthy feeling of distrust. Any differences we 
may have had belong to a long-buried past, and if this 
country can only arrive at a statesmanlike settlement of 
the Irish question, in the solution of which she might learn 
something from America's experience of Federalism, there 
is nothing to stand in the way of permanent and cordial 
friendship, if not actual alliance. We share a common 
heritage of glorious traditions, and in our united strength 
we shall add to the power of our race to advance the 
welfare of humanity. 



49 



Reciprocity and Reprisals. 

' 1 ""HE term reciprocity expresses a principle which is 
■*■ founded deep in human nature — viz., to treat our 
fellow man as he treats us. Christianity points to a nobler 
ideal ; but, in our present stage of civilization, it can hardly 
be said that attempts to put it into practice in national 
relations have been attended with marked success. We 
have found this in our dealings with Germany, and we 
ought to have abandoned the attempt from the very 
commencement of the War. 

The feelings of the nation have been outraged by the in- 
human conduct of the War by the Germans, their treatment 
of civilians, the submarine outrages, and the barbarous 
cruelty and indignity inflicted by them on prisoners and 
wounded. The world imagined that it had reached a 
stage when it would have been impossible for brave men, 
who had been taken prisoners, to be subjected to the 
horrible outrages which our soldiers have suffered at the 
hands of Germany. 

We owe it however to those men, and to civilization 
generally, to see that stern retribution is meted out, when 
the day of reckoning comes, to all who have participated 
in these infamies. Every individual, from the highest to 
the. lowest, who can be proved to have committed or to 
have been responsible for any outrage, brutality, or in 
fact any action contrary to the Laws of War, as under- 
stood by civilized nations, must answer for his crime. 

In the matter of Zeppelin raids and submarine outrages, 
involving the murder of civilians, a more difficult question 
is raised, as the actual perpetrators have carried out official 
instructions. Enemy property here however might justly be 
used to provide compensation for those who have suffered. 

The question of reprisals for Zeppelin raids has roused 
considerable feeling, but however indignant we may be at 

5° 



Reciprocity and Reprisals. 

the indiscriminate slaughter of our women and children, 
the conscience of our people revolts against the infliction of 
similar retaliation on Germany. The whole force of our 
aircraft must be directed against the enemy solely from 
the point of view of military requirements, but the public 
would assuredly have welcomed some enterprise in attack- 
ing works like Essen, or railway centres like Cologne, which 
are of supreme military importance. Such attacks would, 
of course, endanger the lives of non-combatants, as all 
warfare does, and if civilians were killed or injured, as 
would doubtless happen, it would have the wholesome 
effect of causing the Germans to reflect that indiscriminate 
murder has its drawbacks. 

There is a great deal to be said for the contention that 
you can only get at a brute through his hide, but there are 
limits to our application of this principle, as the Germans 
well know. At the same time something might have been 
done as regards the treatment of prisoners and interned 
civilians, if we had clearly notified Germany that, beyond a 
certain point, to exceed which would have entailed cruelty 
or suffering, we should not accord Germans any conces- 
sions or privileges, except in so far as these were granted 
to our soldiers and interned civilians in Germany. A 
stern enforcement of this principle would assuredly have 
led to some improvement in the lot of our unfortunate 
prisoners in Germany, as it has done in the case of French 
prisoners. Our people, and especially our soldiers, do 
not appreciate the slack and over-tender treatment of 
German prisoners in this country, and they are deeply 
stirred by the inhumanity and indignity with which our 
prisoners are treated. They fail to see why the labour of 
German prisoners and interned civilians here should not be 
fully utilized in productive directions. 

We are adjured by some of our amiable philosophic 
theorists to put aside all feelings of revenge, and after the 

5i 



Reciprocity and Reprisals. 

War to welcome the German, to trade with him as before, 
and not to dream of crushing Germany or of imposing on 
her a harsh indemnity. Our reply is that revenge has 
no place in our settled policy. We have a stern duty to 
fulfil, and we shall fulfil it. Germany must atone for her 
crimes, and she must repair, as far as money can do so, the 
enormous loss she has inflicted on other nations through 
her wanton lust for universal power. 

As regards future intercourse with Germans, we, and our 
Allies with us, must resolve that this shall be as limited 
as possible. We can have no desire to associate with them 
either in business or in social life. Let them develop 
their own land, and by their labour discharge their debt to 
the nations they have wronged. They may then earn the 
right to take their place among them once again. 



52 



Indemnity. 



IN war it is an inexorable law that the vanquished have 
to pay ; but the cost of this War is on such a scale 
that one is staggered by the thought of what this may 
mean. There can be no question that, if Germany could 
have been victorious, she would have placed no limit to 
the indemnity she would have exacted, had it even meant 
reducing the vanquished to a state of permanent slavery. 

Without being vindictive we are resolved that Germany 
must make good the ruin she has wrought, and the mone- 
tary sacrifices she has entailed upon the Allies. The ques- 
tion of territory will be dealt with on the principle of 
race and nationality, and the replenishment of the ravaged 
countries effected by restoring or replacing the plant and 
machinery removed to Germany. 

In addition there is the question of compensation for 
the wealth destroyed, and the actual cost of the War; and 
in estimating what these amount to we must take account 
of what Germany has been able to spend on her huge 
Army, her Navy, and her Spy system, the greater part of 
which can be devoted in future to better purposes. The 
amount thus saved would provide an immense sum per 
annum, while the productive power of Germany, under 
normal peace conditions, would also allow of a further 
large sum being set aside out of the national income. Let 
these be added together and capitalized at four per cent., 
and it will then be possible to form some idea of the in- 
demnity Germany can bear. 

It has been said that we must help Germany to pay the 
indemnity, by refraining from imposing duties or restric- 
tions on her manufactures, and by giving her facilities for 
her commerce. This sounds specious, but it is an utter 
fallacy. Her people must work, and for many a long 
year have less enjoyment of the wealth they produce. As 

53 



Indemnity. 

to the precise manner in which she will raise the indem- 
nity, or by what taxation she will meet the yearly interest, 
it is better that she should herself decide. 

The suggestion has been made that the Allies should 
insist on the imposition of a tax on Germany's exports, 
but there are serious drawbacks to such action, and their 
intervention should perhaps be limited to obtaining ade- 
quate guarantees, by financial supervision if necessary, for 
the due payment of the indemnity. 



54 



Compromise. 



WE flatter ourselves that we have a genius for Com- 
promise, but history shows that, although we have 
often in the past recognized its value, and practised it in 
our home affairs, we have been by no means so successful 
in matters outside these. 

In all our dealings with Ireland our attempts may be 
reckoned as one disastrous failure. There has been the 
inherent difficulty of two distinct races, sharply accentu- 
ated by difference of religion, and as the safety of the 
United Kingdom demanded that Ireland should not be 
separated, the government of that country was naturally 
vested in the Protestant minority. It was impossible that 
it should be otherwise, but it was the outward symbol of 
a tragedy which has exercised a powerful and evil influ- 
ence for more than two hundred years. 

Where two distinct races, differing also in creed, live 
under one Government, it is seldom that the ruling race 
can or will act magnanimously, or associate the other in the 
public administration, even with reasonable safeguards. 
This difficulty is intensified when the ruling race is in the 
minority; and when political power at last passes to the 
majority it is easy to understand the embittered feelings 
that burst into flame. It is perhaps only human nature that 
the latter should desire to enjoy to the full the privileges 
which the minority monopolized for so long, and that they 
should be impatient of all considerations that would counsel 
moderation. It was surely the role of statesmanship to 
make the transfer with as little danger and risk to the 
Empire as possible. Safeguards were essential, to allow of 
time for passions to die down ; for the majority to show 
that they were worthy of trust and ready to work in accord 
with the minority for a lasting union. 

In any country it would have been a hard task, but in 

55 



Compromise. 

Ireland the bitter inherited hatred of England had made 
any feeling of security impossible for the minority. They 
naturally refused to accept the subordinate position destined 
for them, claiming that they at least formed and would 
remain part of the united Empire, and demanding to be 
excluded from the settlement desired by the majority. 
This exclusion must be only temporary, and every induce- 
ment must be offered to enable them to enter later of their 
own free will into the union, that would alone create a 
common national life. If not, the result can only be com- 
plete severance, with the disastrous consequences, that are 
bound to follow from separate systems of government, 
based on racial and religious considerations. 

Many of our public men, in spite of their vehement 
championship of the rights of small nationalities, have 
discovered that in their own land minorities must suffer; 
and in the enjoyment of political power they have sought 
so to enforce the principle that, when that power passes to 
the opponents, there shall be no possibility of a reversal 
of their measures. The principle was ruthlessly applied 
to both Ireland and Wales, but the kindlier spirit, engen- 
dered by the War and accentuated by a feeling of common 
danger and comradeship, will perhaps awaken again the 
spirit of true compromise, for which the whole Empire is 
anxiously looking. The miserable outbreak of a mis- 
guided faction must not be allowed to wreck the golden 
opportunity which may never recur, and the time is 
assuredly near when for good or ill a final solution must 
be found. 

No compromise can be enduring unless it is founded on 
justice and right, and it must not demand the sacrifice of 
principles which men value more than life itself. But it is 
not beyond the power of statesmanship, while respecting 
these conditions, to guide both parties to mutual conces- 
sions of non-essentials in a far-sighted and generous spirit. 

56 



Compromise. 

Success will be of inestimable advantage to the Empire, 
and will crown the union of our people. 

In the foreign and colonial spheres our record of com- 
promise is not a proud one, beginning with the perverse 
stupidity which lost us the American Colonies, and ending 
with the repeated attempts made by us within the last 
thirty years to conciliate Germany. We seemed determined 
to oppose all compromise amongst ourselves, but to go to 
all limits in seeking it with other nations, more especially 
Germany. The time has come when this policy must be 
absolutely reversed. We must go to the utmost lengths 
to discover ways and means of compromise at home, so 
that national unity may not be impaired ; and we must 
sternly refuse to think of compromise on any question with 
Germany or her allies. Compromise degenerates into a 
vice when it becomes only a cloak to conceal weakness, 
irresolution, and endless concession. 



57 



Our Women. 

THE Women of Britain, the Women of the Empire, 
have been magnificent in the hour of trial. No tribute 
is too great for them ; their devotion and their heroism 
are beyond praise. They have proudly given those they 
loved, all that was dear to them in life, to make the 
supreme sacrifice for King and Country, and no man can 
feel the anguish which they have borne. They understand 
the real issues of the War, and know that the end must be 
complete victory or death and dishonour worse than death. 

As more and more men have joined the ranks, women 
have taken an increasing share in the national life, and it 
is somewhat humiliating to confess that it has required the 
shock of war to make us realize that, if we are to have a 
sound and progressive national life, women must play their 
rightful part in it. 

In the domain of labour there are many spheres in which 
women can perform the work as efficiently as men, and in 
many occupations, where the work is light, they ought 
certainly to replace young and healthy men, who are physi- 
cally able to do harder work, and render better service to 
the community generally. As regards wages and hours of 
labour, the vital considerations must be, first, that women 
shall not be taxed beyond their strength, or so near to it 
as to have an unfavourable influence on home life and 
child-bearing ; and, secondly, that they shall receive the 
same wages as men for the same work. The utmost care 
must be taken to avoid long hours of labour, physical 
strain and discomfort, as well as all inducements (except 
in special cases) to permanent employment, especially for 
married women. 

There are positions, chiefly executive and administrative, 
which women can hardly expect to fill, but in the higher 
spheres there is an immense field before them, and there 

58 



Our Women. 

are opportunities coming, which seemed impossible only 
a few years ago. In the domain of Public Health alone 
there is room for an army of educated women, who are 
better fitted than men to deal with the problems of infant 
mortality, care and education of the young, housing, sani- 
tation, etc. 

The time has surely arrived when women should be 
appointed members of all Local Authorities, Commissions, 
and even Parliamentary Committees, constituted to deal 
with social and educational questions. 

There never has been such an opportunity of obtaining 
recognition and justice for women as is now at hand, and 
they may safely leave their cause to those who have wit- 
nessed their devotion and heroism. They have only to 
refrain from prejudicing it by renewing the tactics some 
of them advocated before the War. 

As regards the Suffrage, there can be no question now 
that after the War this must be dealt with in such a way 
as to satisfy all reasonable women. In the past the writer 
has been a staunch opponent of Woman SurFrage, but he 
can be so no longer, for the difficulties, which then bulked 
so largely, hardly count now. The question of qualification, 
so difficult to deal with when it might be lost by marriage, 
will be solved by recognition of the simple fact, that human 
life counts for more than property, and must be the basis 
of qualification in future. Again, it has been held that, in 
the last resort, women could not take up arms and fight in 
defence of their native land. The hour of trial has proved 
how paltry is this consideration, and the fate of Belgium 
shows us that in the awful day, which we trust we may 
never experience, while men have only to face death, wo- 
men have to fear something far more terrible, to which 
death is as nothing. 

Let us remember that the women of a nation are the 
guardians of its soul and the inspiration of its triumphs. 

59 



The Citizen Soldier. 

T70R the time being our regular Army, as we have known 
-*- it for generations, has disappeared, although there are 
still a few survivors of the Expeditionary Force that crossed 
to France in August, 19 14. In its place we have a citizen 
army of over five millions, representing the nation in arms, 
or all men of military age who are physically sound and 
can be spared from civil employment and war work. That 
the men engaged in the latter occupations should be much 
better paid than those, who are risking their lives and 
undergoing hardship and sacrifice at the Front, is one of 
the ironies of the War. 

In the meantime the Citizen Soldier may find what con- 
solation he can in the knowledge that at last an effort is 
being made, by increasing the allowance to his dependents, 
to prevent his home being broken up while he is on ser- 
vice. If he were only satisfied that this would be done on 
right lines, it would allay a great deal of natural anxiety 
and worry. 

The need of an additional grant is incontestable, but 
investigation by barristers instead of by tribunals of busi- 
ness men is unsound, and will cause delay, irritation, and 
hardship. It is strictly laid down in what way any grant 
is to be expended : it is to go into the pocket of the land- 
lord or the coffers of the insurance company, etc.; but it 
may not be spent on food or clothing for wife or children, 
and the unthrifty man will be in a position to claim more 
than the thrifty. The scheme as it stands appears fore- 
doomed to failure, and to furnish one more example of 
official ineptitude. 

Under a system of compulsion the conscientious objector 
was bound to arise; but the man, who declines to defend his 
wife, mother, or child, and who further refuses to help other 
men who are prepared to defend them, is not a conscien- 

60 



The Citizen Soldier. 

tious objector but a coward. A true conscientious objector 
would place himself at the disposal of the State, to do his 
duty and take his share of hardship with his fellows; and 
he would undergo military training, subject to the sole 
reservation that he must not be placed in the combatant 
ranks. The only objection that can count is his refusal to 
take human life, and anyone holding this view is entitled 
to have his conscience respected, however mistaken we 
may consider his judgment of his duty towards his fellow- 
citizens. 

British citizens of military age residing abroad should 
surely come under the provisions of the Military Service 
Act on pain of forfeiting their civic rights. 

When the five millions return to civil life they will 
form a body of men closely knit together by all they have 
done and endured, who by their united strength must un- 
doubtedly exercise a very great influence in the country. 
That this influence may be to its abiding good depends 
largely upon the loyal and unselfish spirit of the rest of 
the nation. Of one thing we may be certain. These men 
are not coming back to allow themselves to be deprived 
of their birthright — their right to their native land, to live 
in it, and to share in the wealth and prosperity which they 
have defended. 

Rightly or wrongly the Citizen Soldier believes that he 
counts for more than the man who has amassed wealth out 
of the nation's needs, or who has benefited by the oppor- 
tunities for personal gain afforded by the War. Those 
who have fought will not forget that the British Empire is 
also their Land. 



61 



Criticism, the Censor, and 
the Press. 

GRUMBLING is a privilege dear to us all, and it is 
easy to be wise after the event, as critics are always 
reminded. It is however just as easy, but ten times more 
dangerous in public affairs, if the gibe is used to stifle all 
criticism. And precisely the same holds good when we 
are told to trust the man at the helm, or to beware of 
" swopping horses," etc. The man at the helm must give 
proof that he is worthy of confidence, and the time some- 
times arrives when it is less dangerous to "swop horses" 
than to stand still or flounder about. Purely destructive 
criticism is as a rule of little value; but constructive criti- 
cism is a very different thing, and it would hardly be true 
to say that even an appreciable part of the criticism, levelled 
at the conduct of the War, was merely destructive. 

Our public men, who attain to political power, have little 
reason to complain of want of generosity on the part of 
the public. There may be a good deal of unreasonable 
grumbling at times, but our innate instinct of fairplay 
usually prevents unjust and premature criticism. In these 
strenuous times all desire for criticism is naturally dis- 
couraged, and even suggestions are put forward tentatively 
with the single object of advancing the common cause. It 
would require a great deal to break down this attitude, 
and nothing but the neglect and ineptitude of Ministers 
could have accomplished it. They had only to be frank 
with the country and to trust it. Their whole policy how- 
ever, has been one long record of secrecy, and it is only 
after nearly two years of war that the people as a whole 
are beginning to realize the true state of affairs. 

There must naturally be some limitation to what can 
reasonably be made known to the public at large, especially 

62 



Criticism, the Censor, and the Press. 

in the matter of naval and military operations, and, when 
it is decided by the Censor that certain information shall 
not be published because it might be useful to the enemy, 
the country is prepared to accept the decision, provided 
only that the principle is intelligently applied. Instead of 
this, it is difficult to conceive how publicity could have 
been conducted with less intelligence or method. The 
puerility of some of the official accounts, which have been 
gravely issued to the public, baffles description. 

The haphazard ways of the Censorship have been no- 
torious, and in numberless cases news, known to the rest 
of the world, has been carefully concealed from the country. 
News has been suppressed that would have heartened the 
nation, or that would have made us realize betimes the 
immense effort that we are called upon to make. Minis- 
ters made a fine art of concealment, as the truth might be 
disagreeable, and the nation was lulled into a false sense 
of security and self-complacency. It was continually led 
to expect some immediate striking victory, which would 
change the aspect of the War ; it was assured that we had 
the enemy well in hand, and that we and our Allies had an 
abundance of men and material. Can it be wondered at if 
the people were long in realizing the truth ? 

We have puzzled our Allies, and created grave prejudice 
to our cause amongst friendly neutrals, especially among the 
people of the United States, who asked for nothing more than 
to be told the whole truth. America's frank journalistic 
methods are different from ours, but in times like these any 
comparison is in her favour. If it is foreign to our ideas to 
imitate even remotely the German methods, it should not 
have been impossible to find some way that would have 
caused less prejudice and irritation. It has naturally taken 
some time for the falseness of the German reports to be 
realized, as their propaganda of lies was highly organized 
and lavishly subsidized in every quarter of the globe. 

63 



Criticism, the Censor, and the Press. 

A striking illustration of the power of the Press has been 
afforded by the patriotic attitude of The Times. This jour- 
nal has rendered signal national service in expressing the 
feelings of the nation at critical moments, in rousing the 
country to a sense of the magnitude of the issues involved, 
and in insisting on its being told the truth. The freedom 
of the Press is infinitely more important than the ideas 
and schemes of politicians, however well-intentioned. It 
is the bulwark of our Liberty. 



64 



Officialdom. 

IT has often been said that our Civil Service is the finest 
in the world, but whatever truth there may have been 
in this praise in ordinary times of peace, the strain of war has 
revealed our officials as monuments of hopeless incompe- 
tence. It is better to speak plainly and cherish no illusions 
on this subject. In a greater degree than Ministers, officials 
have been responsible for the waste and inefficiency, which 
have prolonged the War, and entailed the loss of valuable 
lives and millions of money. It must be admitted that they 
were confronted with a situation which would have severely 
tried even capable men, but there can be few instances in 
which total lack of capacity has not been manifested. 

Shipping had to be requisitioned without a moment's 
delay, but the waste and disorganization of valuable tonnage 
throughout has been appalling, and has had consequences 
of the gravest nature. A similar state of affairs has existed 
in connection with the equipment of the Army, and the 
prodigal waste over food, billeting, etc., has been a byword. 

Other Departments have not lagged behind, and public 
money has been wasted on every hand. It would perhaps 
be unreasonable to expect business capacity from civil 
servants, for they have no opportunity of gaining it. They 
spend their official hours in offices, dealing with documents 
and accounts, and are practically never brought into contact 
with the realities of business life. Civil servants as a class 
have assumed an attitude of contempt and superiority to- 
wards business men, although the senior officials may 
receive the principals of important firms with courtesy. 
But they rarely regard the views of business men on com- 
mercial subjects as possessing the slightest value, and they 
are firmly convinced that all wisdom resides in their de- 
partment, or rather their own section of it. They are pre- 
pared to contest fiercely the claim or view of any other 

65 



Officialdom. 

department, and they resent as strongly interference by 
any section of their own. Hence has arisen the most com- 
plete system of lack of co-ordination that the mind of man 
can conceive, and a total absence of responsibility. 

Deadening as this is in time of peace, it is disastrous in 
time of war. Business on a colossal scale had to be dealt 
with, and it was taken in hand with the levity which comes 
of ignorance. Purchases to large amounts were made by 
men entirely ignorant of business, who were unable to 
discriminate between reputable firms and adventurers, and 
public interests suffered accordingly. The assistance of 
experts in various branches was afterwards sought, and 
some men of eminence in the banking or financial world 
have acted in an advisory capacity. The real need however 
was for men of ability and energy, trained in the diplomacy 
of business, accustomed to deal with men, and of ready 
resource in overcoming difficulties. 

The most rigid rules and conditions had to be adhered 
to, often entailing loss of precious time, and each section of 
a department acted as it thought best and solely for its own 
requirements, without any regard to the national interest. 

Then the brilliant idea was conceived that all middlemen 
must be eliminated, and contracts for supplies placed only 
with manufacturers. Merchant firms of repute, content to 
earn a moderate profit, which many manufacturers gladly 
paid for the services rendered, were placed in the same 
category as adventurers, and their offers were ignored. A 
manufacturer however could secure contracts for fifty times 
the quantity he could produce, and obtain an enhanced 
price, it being quite sufficient for the official that he was a 
manufacturer. So self-satisfied were these wiseacres that 
they imposed their official guidance on the Allies in their 
business relations here, on the plausible ground that we had 
to assist them in finance. To the delay and disorganization 
resulting from this procedure, may be attributed some share 

66 



Officialdom. 

of the disastrous shortage of munitions which so seriously 
crippled Russia. 

As if nothing could be too fatuous for them, the purchas- 
ing of all munitions and equipment from America was 
placed in the hands of a single American house, although 
there were competent British firms, who would have worked 
the business at least as efficiently and for a more moderate 
remuneration. The house in question had extensive con- 
nections in the States, but chiefly on this account many 
large concerns and combines, having relations with rival 
houses, declined to treat through them, especially when the 
business meant the expensive conversion of machinery and 
heavy outlay in new plant to turn out the large quantities 
of munitions required. 

Months of precious time were wasted, while our Allies 
and our officials were hoodwinked by adventurers in German 
pay, who offered to enter into contracts, and sometimes 
actually secured them, for large quantities of munitions at 
fictitious prices, without the slightest intention of making 
any delivery. Deposits were of course forfeited, but these 
availed little when the Germans were driving the Russians 
back a few months later. 

Business men could and would gladly have rendered 
valuable aid, but the one dominant idea in the official mind 
seemed to be, that on no account must any business man 
earn a commission or profit of any kind, and it was accord- 
ingly decreed that anyone, who was in a position to deal in 
munitions, must send full particulars and receive official 
permission. Any particulars supplied may have been use- 
ful to the American house in question, but otherwise this 
was the final episode, and business men felt that it was mere 
waste of time to attempt to be of any service. A number of 
barristers, solicitors, and accountants have given their ser- 
vices without payment, some possibly in grateful recognition 
of favours to come, but this system is wrong, and there is 

6 7 



Officialdom. 

nothing to defend the acceptance of the labour of educated 
men without reasonable payment, when physical labour is 
being paid for extravagantly by the State. There may be a 
favoured few, but it is not too much to say that the vast 
majority of those, who have come in contact with officials, 
have experienced harshness, want of consideration, and in- 
justice, which will not be easily forgotten. It is quite true 
that our Allies in their dealings here have followed the 
example of our officials, and all are a law unto themselves, 
for it is out of the question to obtain redress. 

If anyone had the hardihood to remonstrate or show any 
trace of resentment, or even to explain, he would simply be 
denied access in future to the august presence, and he had 
better abandon the whole business, unless he were prepared 
to curry favour with the officials and renounce the error of 
his ways. Do we realize that the country is dominated by 
the most powerful vested interest ever created, a close cor- 
poration, possessed of all but unlimited power, but without 
real responsibility ? 

Documents in endless sequence, minute and trivial 
details, continuous reference to other Departments or sec- 
tions, are the beginning and end of official ideas of work; 
buildings and clerks are multiplied and transferred until 
chaos reigns supreme. Then a Committee or Commission 
is constituted, composed of barristers and officials, with 
perhaps an expert and an eminent business man, who has 
already as much work as he can properly attend to, and the 
public believes (or rather used to believe) that some im- 
provement will follow. 

The various orders and regulations, which have been 
published from time to time, show official incompetence 
at its highest. Some have been altogether ludicrous, as 
for instance those, issued in the early days of the War, 
giving the conditions under which bonfire celebrations 
might be held, and later those dealing elaborately and 

68 



Officialdom. 

minutely with military and naval dress; most have been 
so carelessly drawn up that they have had to undergo con- 
tinuous amendment, to the utter confusion of all affected 
by them. 

Assuredly such a system cannot continue, and although 
it would be presumptuous to outline how the change could 
be effected, it might be as well to indicate a few conditions 
which should be observed when the task of reconstruction 
is taken in hand. 

In the first place, all officials must be of British nationality, 
born of British parents, and should take the oath of alle- 
giance on appointment. Their active participation in politi- 
cal questions, and the use of their voting power, are also 
matters that require careful consideration. 

In the second place, all public offices must be recruited 
to an increasing extent from the ranks of business men. 
This can be done by filling a certain number of posts each 
year with men who passed the necessary examination on 
leaving school, but then entered commercial life and spent 
a certain period in the employ of a business house. A 
number of business men, with say twenty years' business 
experience, should also be appointed to higher posts and 
entrusted with power to deal promptly with all complaints. 
They would be the means of intercommunication between 
the different sections of Departments, and the seniors would 
naturally act as links between Departments, thus avoiding 
the endless circumlocution and useless correspondence 
which now goes on. 

A great deal of the ordinary work in Government offices 
is of the merest routine nature, and many officials are far too 
highly paid for the work they perform. Much of that work, 
perhaps even 75 per cent, of it, could be more efficiently 
performed by women, and a system, which provided for 
their employment, and that of a fair percentage of men with 
some business training, would prove infinitely superior to 

69 



Officialdom. 

the present system, under which waste, inefficiency, and 
ignorance are rampant. 

All forms, contract conditions, etc., should be drastically 
revised, and many abolished. Simplicity and utility must 
be the only guides, and the nation's business must be run 
on business lines. 

It might be advisable to establish a Central Office, with 
full responsibility and power over all Departments. Such 
an office would require to be able to deal drastically with 
any Department which, without reference to national in- 
terests, arrogated to itself the right to neglect or interfere 
with any thing even remotely affecting it. Staffed with 
picked business men, it would be accessible to the public, 
and would deal promptly with all complaints. Its sole aims 
would be efficiency and economy. 

It is nothing short of a scandal that it should be possible 
for departments to wrangle with one another, to keep one 
another in ignorance, and to place every obstacle in the way 
of getting things done — in fact, indulge in "departmental 
rows." Can we imagine a business concern putting up with 
anything of this nature ? In every other walk of life the in- 
capable has to pay the penalty, but in the civil branch of the 
public service he goes merrily on, without the slightest risk 
of being called to account. 

It is right that the State should be a model employer, but 
it is sometimes overlooked that the converse also holds — 
that the official ought to be a model employe, and should at 
least study the interests of his employer. There are hun- 
dreds of dilettantes, incapables, and procrastinators, who 
should be relegated to another sphere of uselessness, where 
their services would at least be harmless. If it must be so, 
let them disappear under a shower of decorations and pen- 
sions, but in any case let them disappear. They have earned 
oblivion. Let them enjoy it. 



70 



Merchant Shipping. 

T F there is one element, which we have prided ourselves 
■*■ on understanding, it is the Sea. Throughout our history 
a sure instinct has made us realize that on it depends our 
very existence, for the supremacy of any other nation would 
spell our ruin as a Great Power. In spite of supineness in 
other directions, we have steadily recognized the supreme 
importance of Sea Power, and when the hour struck, our 
Navy was fit and ready for its work. Coupled with this 
readiness however was a lamentable failure to grasp the 
real value of our Mercantile Navy. We talked glibly of 
the "freedom of the Seas" as a subject for discussion, with- 
out realizing that for us the Sea is the life-blood of our 
Empire; that for us the only freedom is that which allows 
our life-giving commerce to pass freely through its arteries. 

At the outbreak of war a considerable percentage of our 
Merchant vessels was requisitioned for Government pur- 
poses, and it soon became evident, as the area of hostilities 
extended, that this percentage would increase rather than 
diminish. It was impossible to foresee what losses would 
occur from enemy cruisers, submarines, and mines, but 
common prudence would have dictated a liberal estimate. 
It surely did not require extraordinary intelligence to see 
that both these causes, coupled with the dislocation and 
wasteful handling incidental to war, would bring about a 
state of affairs, in which the available shipping of the world 
would not be sufficient to deal with ordinary trade require- 
ments. 

We recognized at once the necessity of putting all our 
railway communications under State control, without trou- 
bling about any inconvenience or loss inflicted thereby on 
individuals or private interests; and it is one of the most 
striking instances of incompetence and want of foresight 
on the part of our Government, that it failed signally to 

71 



Merchant Shipping. 

grasp the fact that the control of our Merchant Shipping 
was equally vital to the national interests. Had it done so, 
freights could have been regulated on a basis yielding an 
ample return to shipowners, and we should not be con- 
fronted now with a state of affairs, which is fast developing 
into one of grave peril. 

By faithfully adhering to our policy of drift, we have 
allowed shipowners to amass huge fortunes, while our 
people have suffered from the increased prices resulting 
from abnormal freights. These have been forced up by 
the scarcity of tonnage, till they have reached a level of 
about eight times what they were at the outbreak of war. 

During the whole period the Government waited and 
did nothing, beyond taking some steps of a palliative 
nature in certain directions, and making provision for the 
State to take a large slice of the excess profits earned by 
shipowners, although even the whole of the excess profits 
would not have compensated for the loss entailed on the 
community by enhanced freights. And yet the Board of 
Trade has had the advantage of being presided over by a 
Minister, presumably conversant with shipping, and closely 
connected with one of our leading and most successful 
shipowners, who controls tramp tonnage of very large 
cargo capacity. 

It may be urged that we could only regulate our own 
shipping, and this is true; but it would have been an easy 
matter to make an arrangement with our Allies. As regards 
neutrals, a resolute policy, which appreciated and was pre- 
pared to utilize our position as suppliers of bunker coal to 
the shipping of the world, would have brought about a 
satisfactory solution. We could have dictated the terms 
on which neutral vessels might obtain supplies of British 
coal, both in our own ports and at the coaling stations 
abroad. 

Disastrous as our shiftless handling of this question has 

72 



Merchant Shipping. 

been to us, it has been more burdensome to our Allies. 
It is a matter of ordinary commercial knowledge that both 
France and Italy — the former to a large extent, the latter 
entirely — have to rely on coal imported from this country, 
to keep their industries at work. Not only have they 
suffered heavily through the rise in price of food-stuffs 
due to higher freights, but their national industries are 
ruinously affected by the increased price of coal, repre- 
senting on an average an advance of 600 per cent. The 
terrible burden which this entails falls in the first instance 
on these countries, but it really affects us, and adds to our 
responsibilities ; for it is too often forgotten that in the 
last resort we cannot allow any of our Allies to be involved 
in a financial crisis. Many millions would have been saved, 
had this been appreciated in the early days of the War, 
and intelligent measures taken betimes. 

It might have been supposed that the replenishment of 
our Merchant Navy — the building of new boats to replace 
those lost or destroyed — would have engaged the earnest 
attention of our responsible leaders, but here again there 
is little sign of anything but waiting and drifting, and the 
danger is rapidly becoming acute. Many contracts for the 
construction of ships have been held in abeyance, because 
the Government requisitioned the materials to be used, 
with the result that the builders could not replace them 
except at enhanced prices, while the shipowners declined 
to pay anything beyond the contract prices. The usual 
clash of two Government Departments followed — the 
Admiralty commandeering the materials, the Treasury pre- 
sumably refusing to devote any money to meet the diffi- 
culty — each contending for its own department, and neither 
regarding the larger national interests involved. Surely 
some solution could have been found which would have 
been fair to both sides ; but if not, the State should have 
financed the construction and taken the boats over, when 

73 



Merchant Shipping. 

built, for national use. The situation was of course made 
worse by large numbers of men employed on shipbuilding 
work being allowed to join the New Army ; but prompt 
recognition, and resolute handling, of the contract difficulty 
would have shown all concerned that the men in question 
could render better service in the yards than in the ranks. 

It seems almost incredible that, since the outbreak of 
war, a large number of steamers under the British flag 
have been sold to foreigners, and we ought as a nation to 
call to stern account whoever is responsible for the criminal 
negligence of permitting such transactions. In time of war 
all our ships should be under State control, and on no 
account should a single vessel be allowed to change her 
nationality. 

Neutral shipowners are now reaping a golden harvest, 
and without an excess profits tax like ours to pay, they are 
piling up profits, which will place them in a position, at 
the conclusion of the War, to challenge us for the carrying 
trade of the world. The struggle before us will unques- 
tionably be severe, and our shipowners are to some extent 
handicapped in preparing for it, by the high prices which 
builders are now forced to ask for laying down new tonnage. 
It is quite possible, although hardly probable, that even 
the substantial profits which they have earned (after deduc- 
tion of the excess profits tax) might be swept away by 
losses and depreciation, if freights dwindled after the War 
and went back to something approaching the old level. 
But again, if national interests are to take precedence of 
those of any section, a solution of the difficulty must be 
found. It could surely be arranged that the amount pay- 
able under the excess profits tax, or part of it, should be 
invested in new tonnage, the shipowners contributing an 
equal amount, and the steamer being worked on equitable 
terms for joint account of State and owner. 

There is another serious difficulty which we have still to 

74 



Merchant Shipping. 

face, and against which we must provide in time. Foreign 
shipowners will doubtless devote part of their large profits 
to preparing for future competition with us, and in the 
ordinary course they will seek to place orders with our 
shipbuilding yards. We must accordingly take the neces- 
sary precautions to prevent their obtaining priority over 
British subjects, and it may be advisable, for some period 
after the War, to allow foreign orders for ships to be placed 
only under strict conditions and with State permission. 

As regards the anticipated competition of German ship- 
ping, at present interned, this aspect of the question must 
be borne in mind and dealt with in our Peace conditions. 



75 



Waste and Economy. 

ONE of our besetting national sins is waste, and this 
has been accentuated by the widespread and senseless 
luxury resulting from the prosperity of the last fifty years. 
In that fuller light, which has been vouchsafed to us by the 
expenditure of the nation's wealth on the War, we can see 
how we have neglected our resources, and sacrificed national 
interests to cheapness and self-indulgence. 

It is unquestionable that our land has not been utilized 
to the best advantage, and much of it has been allowed 
to go out of cultivation, when it would have been to the 
national interest to have grown corn, fruit, or vegetables, or 
to have planted trees for timber. Even if it had involved 
money grants or the sinking of capital for a period, it would 
have been well worth while. Neither has our man power 
been utilized to the best advantage, for the percentage of 
those engaged on productive work has fallen, as the per- 
centage in Germany has risen. 

According to the so-called economic law (perfect in an 
ideal world), under conditionsof absolute freedom everyone 
would perform the work for which he is best fitted. Un- 
fortunately this comfortable dogma, which is only our old 
friend laissez faire under another guise, is sadly interfered 
with at times, as when some foreign interest determines to 
capture a special trade, and by dumping prevents it being 
carried on here at a profit. The workers must then transfer 
their labour to some other sphere, which is presumably 
quite a simple and easy matter, but if some specialized in- 
dustry, requiring technical skill and affording good wages, 
is lost to the country, it is hardly compensated for by the 
displacement of that labour, and its transfer to some other 
less skilled and lower paid industry, even if this could be 
easily accomplished. The transformation of skilled en- 
gineers or electricians into toymakers or waiters would 

7 6 



Waste and Economy. 

scarcely be accounted a gain from the national point of view. 

With the growing feeling against luxury and extrava- 
gance, we must learn not to regard economy as meanness, 
but rather look upon waste as criminal folly. The utiliza- 
tion of waste products has been a source of immense wealth 
to Germany, and this aspect of economy will have to receive 
far more attention in our country. We are only now dis- 
covering the appreciable loss incurred by the destruction of 
waste paper and refuse of various kinds. 

We could also effect an immense saving if we standard- 
ized such articles as nails, screws, and various parts of 
machinery, especially in connection with the building of 
ships and engines, as well as articles of glass, tin, etc., etc., 
which are used for containing fluids, fruits, etc., and which 
are at present destroyed in millions, as they do not pay for 
handling and sorting. This could easily be altered by the 
exercise of common sense and goodwill among manufac- 
turers, even if it were found impracticable to effect the 
desired result by legislation. 

From another point of view it is quite evident that con- 
siderable waste of both money and man power takes place 
in the distribution of commodities, more especially the 
necessaries of life. This could be remedied by intelligent 
co-operation, but individual jealousy and the spirit of inde- 
pendence are serious obstacles. In some respects the exten- 
sion of the control of public utilities, tocover not only water, 
gas, and electricity, but also the daily necessaries of life, 
such as milk, bread, and even meat, would tend to a solu- 
tion of the problem, but this must be considered in all its 
bearings. Would the gain in efficiency, saving of labour 
and improved health be more than balanced by the creation 
of more officials, and the loss of independence arising there- 
from, which however is perhaps more a matter of sentiment 
than reality ? 

At the present stage of civilization, there are bound to 

77 



Waste and Economy. 

be enterprises and industries commanding very large capital, 
particularly in such matters as land and sea transport, and 
the tendency to highly organized concerns has been marked 
and is rapidly growing. If the State — in other words, the 
general public — is to manage these, they must be run on 
sound business lines, and we shall have to evolve an en- 
tirely different type of public servant. 

It is of vital importance to us to prevent waste in the 
labour of men, women, and children, and this must be 
intelligently dealt with in time to meet the altered condi- 
tions of the near future. We must put all sectional claims 
and specious demands on one side, and adhere steadily to 
the one simple principle — the well-being of the nation. 
By this we must judge and decide at what age, and under 
what safeguards, the labour of the young shall be permit- 
ted, so that future health and efficiency may not be sacri- 
ficed to temporary profit or convenience. The same applies 
to the working hours of men and women, and to the con- 
ditions under which both, but especially the latter, are to 
work in future. 

The national waste during the War, not only of material 
and food, etc., but also of human labour, has been appalling. 
Gross stupidity has been shown in every direction : by 
laying down cast-iron rules which made destruction of 
surplus stores easier than limitation of supply; by using 
soldiers for work which civilians could have done more 
efficiently; and by working men unconscionably long hours, 
resulting in their output being less in quantity and less 
satisfactory than if their hours had been normal. Men will 
always respond to an exceptional call at a critical moment, 
but continuous pressure can only have one result — hope- 
less breakdown — as even officials might have foreseen. 

In some directions the waste has been remedied, but in 
others it still continues; and unless the provisions of the 
Military Service Act are worked in a broad and practical 

78 



ff-""^".! 



Waste and Economy. 

spirit, we shall open up a new channel for the depletion of 
both human material and wealth. The guiding principle 
must be that all citizens should be utilized in the best 
interests of the community, that they should thus render 
the services they are best fitted to render without injury 
to the general welfare. The War Office authorities natur- 
ally want every fit man in the ranks, but it can hardly be 
in the national interest that men nearing the age limit, and 
with wives and children dependent on them, should have 
to relinquish the business they have worked up, or the 
position they have attained to, merely that the appearance 
of uniformity should be maintained. 

Equality of service does not mean the same work for 
all. We want no suspicion of favouring any class, but in- 
stead of elaborate regulations for the compensation of men 
whose homes will be broken up, we should have every 
effort made, in all sympathy and breadth of view, to make 
the broken-up homes as few as possible. Many of these 
men could carry on training near their homes for a fixed 
number of hours per week, and they would become ready 
for home defence probably quite as soon as if they were 
wrenched at once from civil life and turned into soldiers. 
They could gradually replace the younger men already 
trained, who are not at present in the first line, but who 
ought to be there as soon as they are fit. 

The married men who protested against being called up 
were not shirkers. They were animated by the highest 
patriotic feelings, and anxious to do their "bit" ; but they 
asked for equal sacrifice for all, and they held that the ser- 
vices of each man should be utilized to the best advantage 
of the community. It must also be borne in mind that those 
who, owing to physical defect or impaired health, or to their 
being just over the age limit, are left free to carry on as usual, 
will not only benefit by not being enrolled, but will reap 
material advantage from the calling up of their competitors. 

79 



Waste and Economy. 

The high level of wages, which has ruled during the 
War, does not necessarily imply waste, but there has been 
nothing like the saving or economy that ought to. have 
been practised. The higher standard of living is all to the 
good, but an immense amount of money has been spent 
wastefully and extravagantly. We have had a few speeches 
and many placards praising the virtue of economy, and 
recommending the public to lend their savings to the 
nation ; but one looks in vain for any sign of, we will not 
say economy, but even of prevention of waste, in Govern- 
ment departments or works, or until lately of any real 
practical efforts to attract the savings of wage-earners to 
the national securities. 

The Government departments, often in competition 
with one another, or in total ignorance, have paid absurdly 
high wages, and so spread a feeling of unrest, which has 
naturally had a disturbing influence on labour conditions 
throughout the country. It is only right to add that there is 
one important consideration of a favourable nature, which 
in the eyes of politicians perhaps compensates for all the 
evils. The general material prosperity has not allowed the 
mass of our people to feel any inconvenience from the 
War, and has almost led them to conclude that none could 
possibly arise. This state of mind might prove dangerous, 
but it has a certain bearing on national unity, and prevents 
any thought of a premature peace, which might find sup- 
port if there was appreciable suffering amongst any con- 
siderable section of the community. 

In the sphere of Local Government there are immense 
opportunities for economy, and an improved spirit of 
public duty will doubtless see that the fullest advantage 
is taken of these in future. We have permitted — it might 
almost be said encouraged — serious waste in such matters 
as the upkeep of roads, and in the want of co-ordination 
between gas, water, and electric light authorities, with the 

80 



Waste and Economy. 

result that each opens up roads without any reference to 
the others. Local improvements and tramway schemes 
have too often been carried out on wasteful lines, the 
chief aim, it would seem, in many cases being to provide 
employment for a large number of men who possess votes. 

In the public service there are many branches, both 
national and local, which could be adequately staffed with 
older men — preferably men who had passed their best years 
as soldiersor in employment entailing severe physical labour 
— but which at present employ a large number of young 
men. This is a double loss, the productive labour of the 
latter being lost to the country, while the older men, un- 
able to obtain employment, are condemned to enforced 
idleness. This state of things arises in part from the in- 
dependent action of separate authorities, whose sole desire 
is to attract young men, who can settle down to a comfort- 
able existence, and entail the least expense for pensions on 
retirement. From their point of view the system seems 
ideal, but it will have to be judged in future by other 
considerations, affecting the whole community and not 
merely the particular service concerned. 

There is abundant opportunity for waste, too, in the 
way in which contracts for coal and other important sup- 
plies are made by local authorities, gas, water, and electric 
light undertakings in the same town or neighbourhood. 
In the public interest it is imperative that these should be 
co-ordinated on business lines. Large economies in price, 
management of stocks, and transport, could be effected. 

Perhaps, after all, the greatest waste in normal times, 
from the national point of view, is the loss of man power 
through unemployment. Our workmen prize almost 
fiercely the right to strike, and up to a certain point it 
represents a power which they cannot surrender. It ought 
however to be used only in the last resort, when every 
other means has failed, and with the fullest sense of 

81 



Waste and Economy. 

responsibility. It should be the aim of both employers and 
employed to make strikes and lockouts impossible, for 
they are really a confession of the bankruptcy of common 
sense and mutual confidence. 

Another aspect of the question is the loss of man power 
through the genuine inability of numbers of men to obtain 
employment. This has been forcibly brought before us by 
the demand contained in the phrase, "the Right to Work," 
but it is surely worth considering whether the State should 
not solve the problem by enforcing the Duty to work on 
all able men. The community has already conceded the 
principle that no individual, however poor or degraded, 
shall be allowed to starve. In the general interest it would 
be wiser, and in the end cheaper, to utilize the margin of 
man power which is at present lost, paying such reason- 
able minimum wages as will enable a man to keep his 
home together and support those dependent on him. Such 
employment would only be temporary, and would offer no 
inducement but that of stern necessity. There will of course 
remain the idle, the shiftless, and the criminal classes, 
whose numbers, as labour conditions improve, must di- 
minish. For these we must revise our ideas, on the basis 
of inducing them to become honest workers, and this end 
will be accomplished by providing for them on a scale 
which affords them bare subsistence, and considerably less 
than they could obtain by honest labour. It has too often 
happened that the criminal or shirker has been better off 
in prison or workhouse than if he had been at work. 



82 



National Defence. 

/~\UR Navy is the first condition and guarantee of our 
^— " existence as a nation, and never again, it may be hoped, 
shall we see any opposition to its being maintained on a 
scale that provides beyond all question for the security of 
the Empire. 

One lesson however we have learnt from the War, that 
our regular Army is not and cannot be sufficient to pro- 
vide for the contingencies we may be called upon to face. 
It will have to be reconstructed on lines which will enable 
it to deal with troubles arising from our Imperial respon- 
sibilities beyond the seas, and with sudden emergencies, but 
beyond this we must for years to come have the nation in 
arms, or trained to arms, prepared to take its appointed 
place at once in the Empire's defence. 

The form which that training will take must be care- 
fully thought out in the light of our own experience during 
the War, and of that of other nations which have adopted 
conscription. Both the word itself and the system are dis- 
tasteful to us, and if possible the question must be dealt 
with on other lines. Discipline within reason undoubtedly 
improves both individual and national character, but a 
needless locking up of man power is also a national loss. 
Our case in some respects stands apart. We do not require 
an army of several millions ready to take the field at im- 
mediate notice, but we must never again be so unprepared 
that we cannot amply reinforce our regular army from our 
citizen army within a period of six or nine months. 

We require a system which, in case of need, will enable 
this to be done well within three months. To insure this 
there must be a certain amount of drill and elementary 
training in boyhood, followed by a complete course of 
training of six months or more, between the age of 17 and 
20. After this, with provision for shooting and military 

83 



National Defence. 

exercises, it might be possible to maintain efficiency with 
two or three weeks' active combined training every third 
year until the age of 45. 

Special attention should be paid to the capacity of each 
individual, and men encouraged to specialize, so that all 
may be set to the work for which they are best fitted, and 
fall into their proper place when required. In this respect 
the Germans have had an immense advantage, and one 
which, after nearly two years of war, we have not yet 
caught up. We can never again commit the blunder of put- 
ting medical and scientific men into infantry battalions, and 
setting them to dig trenches or look after stores, while 
making officers of small tradesmen and others, who how- 
ever patriotic had no experience that entitled them to have 
commissions granted them on application. 

Beyond the old problems of land and water, we have 
now a third element to deal with, the air, which seems 
destined in the near future to become the most important 
of all. We are being taught at heavy cost what it means to 
us, and we have to see that in the air we attain a position 
which will assure our security, and prevent any risk of our 
being destroyed by an unscrupulous foe. We cannot bring 
ourselves to realize what war in the air on a large scale 
would mean, and what would be the effect on civilization if 
a squadron of airships, filled with poisonous and explosive 
bombs, were able in a few hours to lay waste a large dis- 
trict, reducing it to blackened ruins and killing every human 
being within a wide radius. The mind of man reels at the 
very thought, and must surely demand that our common 
civilization shall protect itself against such a possibility, 
and that those capable of such crimes shall be regarded as 
enemies of the human race. 



84 



Citizenship. 



THE War alone has brought home to us the full 
meaning of Citizenship. We have taken for granted 
that our citizenship belonged to us of right, with all its 
privileges, the importance of which we never realized, and 
that no duties or sacrifices were required from us individu- 
ally in return. The ranks of our Army and Navy were 
certainly filled voluntarily, and we assumed that they would 
defend us in case of need, and that, as long as we provided 
the necessary money, we might ignore any personal obli- 
gation to defend our land. 

It is true that for some years before the War there was 
an uneasy feeling that something more was called for, and 
that, in view of our material prosperity and our means of 
defending it, we were running grave risks. Fortunately 
we have never wavered in our determination that our Navy 
shall be supreme, in spite of a section which deprecated 
anything like a preponderance of our Naval power over that 
of other countries. The War however revealed to us that 
if our existence depended in the first place on the supremacy 
of our Navy, our Empire could not be safeguarded unless 
our people were prepared to fight for it in their own per- 
sons. We realize now this aspect of citizenship, and after 
the War it will constitute the most important and far- 
reaching problem to be dealt with, on whose right solution 
it is not too much to say the future welfare of our Empire 
will depend. 

Citizenship, as all know, was highly esteemed in an- 
tiquity, and men considered it a high honour to be citizens 
of Athens, Sparta, Rome and many another famous city. 
They enjoyed the privileges it conferred, and they ren- 
dered the services and endured the sacrifices it entailed. 
It is for us now to aim at an ideal that, while affording to 
all the privileges, rights, and protection, which an ordered 

85 



Citizenship. 

society alone can give, shall also call upon all, with due con- 
sideration for health and age, to render equal services and 
endure equal sacrifices in defending the lives and property 
of all. It is because this principle has been violated or lost 
sight of, that we have had to endure the recruiting muddle, 
which has cost us so much in men, money and prestige. 

As far as natural-born citizens are concerned, there are 
some simple truths, that have been lightly regarded in the 
past, but which must now be treated as of vital importance. 
To produce a race of healthy citizens, the conditions under 
which the people live must be sound and healthy, compris- 
ing in this definition all matters affecting housing, sanita- 
tion, food, and drink. 

The mothers of the race must receive sufficient care and 
instruction to enable them to produce and rear a healthy 
stock. The health of the children must be safeguarded by 
the provision of ample supplies of pure milk, and their 
education must be conducted on sane and liberal lines, 
aiming at real training and formation of character. 

Hitherto we have apparently been so anxious to increase 
the number of our citizens, irrespective of quality or value, 
that the accident of being born under the British flag was 
under our law sufficient to confer British citizenship. We 
must surely provide in future that this only applies in the 
case of children whose fathers are at the time British sub- 
jects. In other cases British citizenship might be granted 
on application at a reduced fee at the age of twenty-one, 
subject to the applicant's record being satisfactory. 

As we appreciate the pressing need of men to replace 
those who have fallen, so we must also beware of sacrificing 
quality for numbers. An increased population will not be 
a national asset unless the conditions indicated are present, 
and unless every child has the opportunity of growing up 
to maturity under sound family conditions and influences. 
This is most important, for a decrease in legitimate births, 

86 



Citizenship. 

and a more than corresponding increase in illegitimate 
births, would not be for the welfare of the community. It 
is well to bear in mind also that it is not the actual birth- 
rate figures that should influence us, so much as the number 
of children who survive under healthy conditions. 

It necessarily follows, that all who are unfit to exercise 
the rights or perform the duties of citizenship, should be 
debarred from it, even to the extent of disfranchisement. 
This disability should be enforced incases where individuals 
refuse to assist in the defence of the country, and in fact 
express their indifference as to whether they are ruled by 
a foreign foe or not. Disfranchisement, and in some cases 
outlawry, might well be inflicted as part punishment for 
certain crimes which render the criminal unworthy of citi- 
zenship. To make the punishment substantial, double or 
treble taxation should be enforced, and where outlawry is 
inflicted, the individual would of course receive no protec- 
tion from our laws and have no locus standi in our Courts. 

To provide a working basis, we must continue and extend 
the principle of Registration, so happily introduced during 
the War, and make it similar to that in force in other 
countries. There can be no difficulty in utilizing their ex- 
perience, and in adopting a system which will meet our 
special needs. Every citizen should be registered and 
carry on him, or be prepared to produce at notice, his official 
book giving all particulars necessary for identification. 
This might be termed the " Register," and after the first 
feeling, that it was an interference with our personal liberty, 
we should soon get accustomed to it, and realize the pro- 
tection it afforded against criminals and undesirables, both 
native and alien. 



87 



Aliens. 

THIS aspect of the Citizenship problem is of such 
vital importance that it merits a separate chapter, and 
its gravity demands the most careful consideration. To go 
to the heart of it, we require an answer to the simple 
question, Why do aliens come to reside or settle in our 
land ? If they are seeking asylum from religious or poli- 
tical persecution in their native land, we welcome them, 
provided there is no criminal taint or sinister reason, and 
that there is every prospect of their becoming reputable 
and law-abiding citizens. But we want no others, and we 
must assert emphatically our sovereign right to refuse 
entry to our land and to our Empire to all who do not 
fulfil these conditions. 

It is clear that this raises a question of the first magni- 
tude, for we must recognize that other nations will assert 
and exercise the same right. They must do so, and we must 
face the consequences. Means must be found of meeting 
the difficulties that will unquestionably arise within the 
Empire; but as we can have no desire to force men of our 
race on other nations, so we will not tolerate that men of 
alien race and nationality shall reside in our land, unless 
we know their reasons and approve of them. 

All aliens therefore landing on our shores should pro- 
duce their papers, and, if only a short visit is contem- 
plated, lodge them with their consul or an officer specially 
appointed for this work. If an alien purposes settling here, 
his papers should be lodged with the police authorities, and 
permission to reside permanently should only be granted 
after the strictest investigation. When permission is granted 
the applicant should never be lost sight of by the police, 
but have to report himself at regular intervals, and show 
in what way he is earning his living. 

After the expiry of ten, twelve, fifteen, or twenty years, 

88 



Aliens. 

and then only if the applicant's record were satisfactory, 
an application for naturalization should be considered. 
Before it was granted, the applicant would have to relin- 
quish his previous nationality, and produce official con- 
firmation of this, and it would be subject to revocation in 
the event of misconduct. The expense of working the 
system could be met by imposing a poll-tax of small 
amount on all aliens on arrival, and by levying a special 
graduated tax on all settling here, which might be reduced 
when naturalization was granted. This would be in addi- 
tion to all rates and taxes payable by natural-born citizens; 
and the State would have the right to refuse any applica- 
tion, to cancel any naturalization, and to reduce the entry 
fee or special tax in the case of allied or friendly nations. 
We ought to take immediate steps to put this question 
on a satisfactory basis, both with our Dominions and with 
our Allies, so that the necessary machinery may be ready at 
once when the War ends. 

Surely we can only look back with shame upon the way 
in which we have admitted aliens to our Citizenship. We 
should have regarded the citizenship of our land as an 
honour and an emblem of pride, but we have bartered it 
for a few pieces of silver. Let us never be guilty of such 
insane folly again. 

It would follow from such a system as that outlined 
above, that the great majority of aliens to whom permission 
is granted to settle here, would come avowedly to make 
their living with us and out of us. We should therefore 
be amply justified in placing such reasonable restrictions 
upon them as experience has shown to be only too neces- 
sary, but which might be relaxed in the case of allied and 
friendly nations. 

Aliens should only be allowed in exceptional cases to 
purchase land or houses, especially in certain localities 
such as sea-fronts and commanding positions, and this 

89 



Aliens. 

restriction should continue for some years even after 
naturalization. 

No alien should have any public honour or title con- 
ferred upon him, nor hold any public appointment or 
office of profit, either local or national, and certain posts 
should be barred to aliens for two generations. Our laws 
should be so altered as to prevent our having again the 
degrading experience of an alien spy becoming a member 
of Parliament. Our universities, colleges, schools, and 
learned societies must also act in this matter on national 
lines, and persons of enemy origin should not be eligible 
for scholarships at our schools and universities. Let these 
be reserved for the children of our own Land. 

The State must exercise its right to deport any alien, 
and it may be recalled here that this was exercised in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, when an Act was passed expel- 
ling Germans from England. 

There are many other directions in which stringent pre- 
cautions will have to be taken, such as the employment of 
aliens as pilots, and as officers or seamen of merchant ships 
under our flag. We must also deal with dues on shipping 
and coasting trade regulations, as well as taxation of profits 
made here by aliens, and the advisability of allowing them 
to own shipping or hold shares in limited liability com- 
panies. At present it seems that a couple of foreigners can 
register themselves as a limited liability company (under 
some high-sounding British title if they so choose), and 
acquire in their trading the rights and status of a British 
trader. This is surely grotesque, and we must provide in 
future that at least 50 per cent., or even 66 per cent., of 
the capital of all British companies shall be held by British 
subjects, and that any person of enemy origin must have 
special permission to enable him to acquire or hold shares. 

As far as practicable let all disabilities and restrictions 
be of the widest nature, and so drawn up as to protect our 

90 



Aliens. 

own people in every possible way, on the basis of regard- 
ing an alien as a possible enemy. This would allow us to 
make concessions to our Allies and to friendly nations; 
we should be on firm ground for negotiating; and if ever 
the need arose we could cancel the concessions and revert 
to the measure of full protection without legislation or 
delay. 

The scandal of the assumption of British names by aliens, 
which has been proceeding apace, must also be dealt with, 
and permission granted only under special conditions. 
Every change of this nature should be registered with full 
particulars, and both the assumed name and the original 
should be used in all official and legal documents. 

The question of enemy aliens already naturalized pre- 
sents a somewhat difficult problem. Roughly, it may be 
said they fall into three categories. There are a few who 
have become citizens of our land, who have absolutely 
renounced allegiance to their native land, and who are 
loyal beyond question. Some of these have sons serving 
in our navy and army. There is a larger body, whose 
assumption of naturalization is merely a cloak to enable 
them to render services, or to be prepared to render ser- 
vices, at any moment to our enemy. Some of these have 
committed gross treachery, and when caught deserve no 
mercy. The third category comprises a much larger class, 
who are ostensibly loyal, but who have never really sepa- 
rated themselves from, or lost sympathy with, their native 
land. It is in their nature to be impressed by her military 
power. The two last classes undoubtedly constitute a 
danger to the realm, but it is in practice impossible to 
differentiate, and the only safe guide in matters of such 
supreme importance is the safety of the State. It is our 
unquestionable right and duty therefore, by interning 
them, to place all beyond the power of injuring us, even 
if this inflicts injustice on some. 

9i 



Aliens. 

Another anomaly which will be dealt with concerns the 
number of young men of military age, born here of Ger- 
man parents, who, under our law as it stands, are British 
citizens, but who object to serve in our army on the ground 
that their sympathies are with the land of their fathers. 
We are thus placed in the humiliating position of allow- 
ing these young men to avoid doing their duty as citizens, 
or of forcing them to serve, with the knowledge that they 
may obtain information of value which they may transmit 
to the enemy. One can hardly conceive anything more 
degrading than this forcing of British citizenship on men 
against their will, instead of conferring it as a privilege on 
those who have shown themselves worthy of it. After the 
War the citizenship of such individuals must be cancelled, 
and we must also eliminate from our land all enemy 
aliens who cannot convince us that their good faith is un- 
impeachable. 



92 



Trade after the War. 

AT the close of the War one of the outstanding prob- 
- lems of the period of reconstruction will assuredly 
be the employment of the army of men set free to resume 
their place in the industrial world. They must be rein- 
stated, or employment found for them, and the upheaval 
and displacement of labour which will ensue must be so 
dealt with as to cause the least possible suffering. Employ- 
ment on work of a productive nature must be encouraged 
in every way, and steps taken to prevent manufactured 
foreign goods being dumped upon our home market. No 
theories or hide-bound ideas regarding Free Trade or Fair 
Trade can be allowed to influence our action, and our 
markets must be preserved for our own products. We 
ought to hear no more of Free Trade or Fair Trade. We 
are all for National Trade now. 

We are told that Germany has laid her plans to flood 
the markets of the world, when peace comes, with com- 
modities which she has been accumulating during the War. 
If there is any truth in this we can surely counteract it in 
our peace conditions, either by confiscating the goods as 
part indemnity, or applying them to the needs of Belgium, 
Serbia, Poland, and the districts of France and Russia 
which Germany has ravaged. It might be advisable to give 
formal notice now that we shall not recognize the sale to 
neutrals of any goods, machinery, or ships at present in 
Germany or belonging to Germans, so that no question of 
fraudulent transfer may be raised hereafter. 

If we are to deal effectively with the new situation, we 
must recognize as an essential condition that the whole 
Empire is, and must act as, one unit. The internal trade 
of the Empire is the concern of the Empire alone, and not 
of any foreign Power; and we have in fact always admitted 
similar claims on the part of other nations. Thus baldly 

93 



Trade After the War. 

stated the principle may seem, under the conditions which 
have grown up, to present grave difficulties; but the con- 
ception will appeal to men like Sir Robert Borden and 
Mr. Hughes, the Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia, 
who are imbued with the true Imperial spirit. The Do- 
minions Beyond the Seas are prepared to play their part, 
and take their share of responsibility, in the settlement of 
this as of all other problems after the War; and under new 
conditions sufficient constructive statesmanship will be de- 
veloped to solve it to the enduring welfare of the Empire. 
To regain our full liberty of action within our own domin- 
ions, we must make the requisite preparations, involving 
friendly denunciation of treaties which have not been 
terminated by the War. The "most favoured nation" 
clause will now assume a new meaning. 

Having asserted or regained our liberty of action, we 
can come to some agreement ourselves as to what duties, 
if any, should be levied on our own products and manu- 
factures, and then as to the restrictions which should be 
imposed, not only on products and manufactures, but also 
on foreigners and foreign vessels engaged in trading within 
the Empire. In considering these questions the goal to be 
aimed at is to encourage to the fullest extent trading by 
our own people in our own land, to make restrictions on 
them as light as possible, and to foster and expand our 
industries and resources in every quarter of the globe. 
Any duties levied on our own products and manufactures 
would therefore be mainly for revenue purposes. 

There can be no question however that cases will occur 
where certain industries must be assisted in their initial 
stages by restricting or neutralizing foreign competition, 
just as there are also others of national importance which 
we cannot allow to be crushed out of existence. What we 
have practised under the name of Free Trade has meant 
the survival of the fittest, but have the most advanced 

94 



" ma m 



Tr^de After the War. 

Free Traders carried this principle out to its logical result 
in their own undertakings ? Have they ever contemplated 
passing over their own sons and relatives in favour of 
more qualified or better endowed outsiders ? No, it is not 
in human nature to do so. The old Scottish proverb puts 
it plainly if somewhat coarsely: "Keep oor ain fish-guts 
for oor ain sea-maws." Every nation is bound to place first 
and foremost the interests of its own citizens. 

When we come to deal with the question of foreign 
imports into the Empire, we shall, as one unit, be in such 
a position to negotiate as we have never hitherto occupied. 
We shall undoubtedly find it the simplest and most busi- 
nesslike course, to have a tariff carefully prepared and ad- 
justed to meet the most hostile competition — a tariff which 
can be enforced in toto against German traders, and as may 
be deemed necessary against our other enemies in this 
War. We can then negotiate moderate concessions from 
this outside tariff with neutral nations, and grant special 
concessions to our Allies, in each case receiving a fair and 
reasonable quid pro quo. Our Chambers of Commerce are 
doing yeoman work in clearing the ground, and they are 
in a position to give valuable expert assistance, provided 
our politicians can only be brought to believe that any 
business man, or body of business men, knows anything 
of commerce in comparison with officials. 

One of our most pressing needs, which has been urged 
on successive Governments, is the establishment of a 
Ministry of Commerce, with a Minister of acknowledged 
business capacity, and provided with a staff of real business 
men, in whose hands should be centred everything dealing 
with the Commerce of the Empire. Such a Ministry 
should be in existence and firmly established when the 
War ends, so that it may be able to deal with the urgent 
national questions which will then call for solution. 
We have a nucleus, but nothing more, in the Board 

95 



Trade After the War. 

of Trade, and new men and new methods are im- 
perative. 

In calculating the duties to be levied on imports, care 
must be taken to provide against unfair discrimination in 
favour of the home producer, and to the detriment of the 
general body of consumers, and no trade must be placed 
in a favoured position. At the same time it must be 
recognized now that it is the producer who must be pro- 
tected, and not the consumer as in the past. In dealing 
generally with the question of imports, we must insist that 
all, except raw material and produce, shall bear some dis- 
tinctive mark (differing for each country), which will enable 
purchasers to know the country of origin or manufacture, 
and we must lay down and enforce drastic regulations to 
prevent forgery and fraudulent imitation. 

The question of Patents and Trade Marks will require 
special attention, and will have to be dealt with not on any 
abstract or severely logical basis, but solely from the point 
of view of Imperial interests. 

In considering the question of Export Trade, the en- 
couragement and development of which is of supreme 
importance, our manufacturers and merchants must show 
that they still retain the spirit of energy and enterprise 
that has really never failed them when the necessity arose. 
They must however realize that the language, currency, 
system of weights and measures, and special conditions 
and requirements of each foreign market, demand careful 
study. If they do not realize this, their competitors will 
do so and secure the trade. If they do, they have an 
opportunity of building up, throughout the world, a trade 
which a few years ago seemed to be slipping from their 
grasp. The question of credit facilities required by foreign 
buyers will have to be squarely met and solved. They have 
been accustomed to more extended facilities than our 
merchants have been able or willing to give, and they will 

96 



Trade After the War. 

require these more perhaps in the future than in the past. 
The difficulty can be met in two ways — either by a system 
of insurance or by the establishment of special Credit In- 
stitutions. 

Our joint stock banks could not, under our banking sys- 
tem, fulfil this purpose. Superficial observers have charged 
them with want of enterprise or adventure, but it is not 
within their province to use their resources, consisting 
mainly of deposits, in financing business of this kind. Were 
they to do so, the foundations of our banking system, 
whose stability is of priceless value, would be imperilled. 
They could however, and doubtless would, assist Credit 
Institutions formed for the purpose on a sound basis and 
with ample subscribed capital. These would earn their pro- 
fits by charging an increased rate of interest or discount, 
affording a sufficient margin to cover risks spread over a 
wide area. It is in this direction that a solution must be 
sought. 

Trade may be described as the exchange of commodi- 
ties, but it is something more. It is the exchange of com- 
modities plus profit, and the more wealth we produce and 
handle, the greater the profits of all. If one school points 
to the volume of imports as the index of national prosperity, 
on the ground that they must be paid for by exports and 
services, the other may as fairly attach supreme import- 
ance to the volume of exports, inasmuch as these must be 
paid for by imports. 



97 



The Consular Service. 

THERE can be little doubt that a drastic reorganiza- 
tion of our Consular Service must be effected after the 
War. It has been well known to Chambers of Commerce, 
and to numbers of business men, though it may come upon 
the general public as a surprise, that in many instances our 
Consuls abroad were not British subjects, and that our 
official trade interests were entrusted to foreigners. 

This state of affairs grew up, partly from false economy, 
and partly from the rooted official idea that business 
matters were unworthy of the attention of the State. The 
compilation of a belated return of imports and exports, 
usually quite worthless, was regarded as a graceful con- 
cession to commerce. Germany, ' on the contrary, has 
reaped the reward of educating and training, for official 
employment abroad, numbers of intelligent men, who have 
rendered valuable service in discovering and developing 
openings for German trade. We must adopt the same 
means, with the increased expenditure it entails, but we 
must have trained men with business ideas, not the ordinary 
type of Government clerk, whose only experience is official 
routine. Within the Empire we must have Trade Com- 
missioners, with staffs of capable men who understand the 
importance of developing Imperial trade. 

On one point there must be no question : every British 
Consular official must be a British subject. In important 
centres he should not himself be engaged in commerce, 
although this restriction might be relaxed in places where 
there is only routine business to be transacted, and where 
the office is subordinate to a principal consulate. 

We must also abandon the curious system under which, 
as soon as a Consular officer has become useful in any post, 
he is transferred to another quarter of the globe. It is 
futile to expect from such a system capable officials, 

98 



The Consular Service. 

or experts who can render any service to business 
men. 

Certificates of origin will play a more important part 
than hitherto, for it is to be feared that they have often 
been regarded as a mere formality. In the future however 
precautions will have to be taken against commodities of 
German origin indirectly reaching our shores as the pro- 
ducts of other countries. 

In the Consular Service we require real live men with 
some knowledge of the diplomacy of business, not amiable 
figureheads, who have meandered through a Government 
office, and become adepts in the gentle art of pigeon-holing 
documents and side-tracking inquiries. 



99 



Labour and Employment 
After the War. 

IT is a commonplace to speak of our want of efficiency 
and organization, but it is unquestionably true that we 
have suffered and are suffering from this defect. If we 
probe the question to the bottom, we come to the simple 
proposition that each member of the community should 
do the work for which he or she is best fitted. This is of 
course a counsel of perfection which can never be attained, 
but we can at any rate ensure as little departure from it 
as is practicable, in endeavouring to utilize our resources 
to the utmost advantage for the production of wealth and 
for the well-being of our people. 

Have we ever seriously considered the question of what 
proportion of our potentially productive labour is actually 
employed on productive work ? And yet a moment's 
reflection will show its vital importance. Surely the vast 
majority of men between the ages of sixteen and fifty should 
be employed on productive work; yet large numbers of 
young and active men have been occupying positions which 
will be filled in future, let us hope, by wounded soldiers, 
or by women or older men. 

Government and public authorities have been amongst 
the chief offenders in this respect; there is the specious 
appearance of economy in employing boys and youths, who 
are not likely to qualify for pensions for perhaps forty 
years. There are many posts — naturally not the highest — 
which ought to be open to, if not reserved for, older men 
of good character, who through misfortune may have to 
obtain fresh employment and make a new start in life. 
This principle should be recognized and enforced in all 
spheres of labour, and Trades Unions will doubtless assist 
in finding a satisfactory solution of the difficulty. No man 

IOO 



Labour & Employment After the War. 

ought through labour restrictions to be compelled to give 
up work, or be placed in such a position that he is not 
allowed to earn his livelihood. It would be only right 
however, if through waning powers he cannot do the same 
work as hitherto, that he should receive somewhat lower 
remuneration and perform a lesser amount of work. 

The production of wealth must benefit all, and the more 
wealth produced, the larger should be the share of each. 
The problem is to apportion the share to each, and the 
right solution lies in some system of profit-sharing. 

It must be recognized that the initial expenses and the 
cost of establishing an industry fall on the employer, who 
has to sink his capital, and he is entitled to count upon a 
reasonable return for his expenditure. This is the basis 
of every enterprise, and unless it is assured after payment 
of working expenses, failure must ensue. Working ex- 
penses comprise employer's salary and wages of workmen, 
which should be calculated on the basis of what is essential 
for a self-respecting man with a wife and family to main- 
tain. Beyond this the business should yield a profit, which, 
after provision for reserve, should be apportioned between 
employer and workers, the amounts being calculated, for 
the one on the amount of capital employed, and for the 
others on length of service and positions occupied. Induce- 
ments would naturally be offered for savings to be invested 
in the business in order to provide for extension, and it 
can hardly be doubted that the new spirit created would 
result in savings and economies of an appreciable nature. 
Each would give of his best, and feel that he was working 
in his own interest by attending to every detail and seeing 
that no waste or loss took place. 

The chief objection to such a system is that labour, 
while participating in profits, would not share in losses, 
but this is not an insuperable difficulty, and with goodwill 
and sympathy it can be overcome. 

IOI 



Labour & Employment After the War. 

Another point, that is sometimes raised, is that it would 
entail varying rates of remuneration for the same class of 
labour, and create dissatisfaction, if, through some perhaps 
accidental cause," one body of workmen received a higher 
return for their labour than another body engaged on 
similar work in the same district. When this objection is 
analysed however, it will be seen that it merely states the 
well-known fact that there is a certain amount of chance 
or luck in all ventures. Profits vary in the most extra- 
ordinary manner, but as long as provision is made in the 
working expenses for fair and reasonable wages, labour 
must take its chance for further reward equally with capital. 

As regards working hours, if a man is to use his best 
faculties and do his best work, he must not be tired out 
and have his energies blunted by long working hours. It 
is wasteful, from the point of view of material profit as 
well as that of health, for a man to go on working con- 
tinuously or without proper intervals for sleep, rest, and 
recreation. On the whole it may safely be said that a working 
day of eight hours — reduced to five or six on Saturdays — 
keeps a man efficient and able to do his best work, both in 
quantity and quality. There are naturally certain spheres 
of labour where the conditions are so severe that shorter 
hours are necessary, as there are also some outdoor occu- 
pations where longer hours may reasonably be worked. 

This leads to the vital question of machinery. It is ofsuch 
immense importance to have the latest and most perfect 
labour-saving machinery in any trade, and to obtain the 
full use of it, that it may be said to constitute the deter- 
mining factor of success or failure. The organization that 
keeps its machinery going continuously has an overwhelm- 
ing advantage over one which can only run eight or even 
sixteen hours out of the twenty-four; and as it is obtain- 
ing a return in shorter time, it is in a position to scrap its 
old machinery earlier and take advantage of every im- 

102 



Labour & Employment After the War. 

provement as it comes along. What we have to aim at is 
the highest attainable production per man, on the basis of 
the full working of machinery, and the highest efficiency, 
keeping always before us the ideal of man's labour being 
required only to guide the machinery. It is a fallacy to say 
that this would injure labour; on the contrary, it would 
raise the standard of labour and produce increased wealth. 
May we not hope that responsible men will never speak 
of "restriction of output" except in terms of strongest 
condemnation ? 

In addition to an increase in the value of Capital, a per- 
manent advance in wages must also be faced; but in spite 
of both factors there is nothing to prevent increased and 
cheaper production. If the increased remuneration of 
labour is wisely utilized, partly in saving, and partly in 
advancing the standard of living, it must lead to increased 
efficiency, which will more than counterbalance all other 
factors. 

And what of the part which Employers and Capital have 
to play in the struggle which faces us ? Our Capital must 
surely be devoted in the first instance to developing the 
resources of the Empire, although we shall also be in duty 
bound to assist in building up anew the prosperity of our 
sorely tried Allies. We must see to it that nothing is done 
in aid of any industry that advances the interests of our 
enemies, no matter what specious pretext may be adduced. 

Capital will continue to be required and employed in 
large amounts, as the tendency grows for undertakings to 
be run on a larger scale, and it would be fatal if the in- 
ducements were not sufficiently attractive for men of ideas 
and enterprise to take reasonable risks. 

Employers will surely learn from the War how much 
they are indebted to the rank and file, and the new spirit 
of brotherhood which it has called forth should be a potent 
factor in reconciling interests that ought never to drift into 

103 



Labour & Employment After the War. 

conflict and distrust. "What is required is the spirit of 
human sympathy, with mutual respect, making both em- 
ployer and worker feel that each is entitled to his fair 
share of the prosperity attained by their mutual efforts 
and co-operation. 



104 



Social Conditions After the War. 

AS the result of many decades of prosperity, the posses- 
- sion of wealth has gradually become the potent 
factor in our national life. We are not alone in this; it is 
common to all the nations, and it would be idle to deny 
the immense power which wealth wields. It admittedly 
provides the sinews of war, and we know that in this War, 
however long and costly the struggle may be, the superior 
resources which the Allies command must exert a decisive 
influence in their favour. 

The War however has also revealed to us with startling 
clearness the eternal if forgotten truth, that human life is of 
infinitely more importance than material wealth. The legal 
mind has impressed upon us the sacredness of property as 
essential to ordered society, and it is quite true that there 
must be security for man to enjoy the fruits of his labour. 

It is painful to reflect how through the centuries the 
rights of property have dominated the rights of human 
life, how all legal systems have recognized this, and how, 
within the memory of men now living, even slight offences 
against property were visited with the most harsh and cruel 
punishment. 

The War has settled that principle once and for all, and 
has placed these matters in their true perspective ; it has 
so laid bare the realities of life that the plainest intelligence 
can see that the wealth of any country counts for less than 
the men who defend it. 

And our first and sacred duty will be to see that those 
men, who have fought and suffered for us, shall not here- 
after endure suffering through our meanness or neglect. 
We have to ensure in the first place that those who are 
totally incapacitated are properly provided for ; in the 
second place that those who are maimed or partly incapa- 
citated, but still able to work, are provided with suitable 

105 



Social Conditions After the War. 

employment; and in the third place that the rest shall have 
preference to the fullest possible extent for all employ- 
ment, especially public posts. 

Generous treatment must be accorded, and the men com- 
prised in the first two classes so provided for as to be placed 
beyond the possibility of want. As regards the third, we 
cannot allow any soldier, who is able to work, to drift into 
want, and by careful organization this may perhaps help 
to solve the difficult question of providing work for every 
willing man and woman of our land. 

Every man and woman of our Empire should regard it 
as a duty to give preference in all purchases to the pro- 
ducts and manufactures of the Empire, and in a lesser 
degree of our Allies, and to restrict, as far as in them lies, 
purchases of the products and manufactures of our enemies. 
Our women can assist greatly in this task, and each must 
firmly resolve to do her part without any fear that others 
may be lukewarm. 

When our Citizen Army returns after the War, we shall 
have a breath of fresh air throughout the land that may 
at first seem disconcerting. Life cannot settle down again 
into the old grooves. Men have seen visions ; they have 
been in close and constant touch with the eternal verities. 
Class distinctions have been broken down, and men of all 
ranks have learned to respect each other. Is it too much to 
hope that this awakening will kill, or at least keep within 
bounds, the selfishness and senseless luxury that have been 
eating into our national life for the past fifty years ? 

Surely we can lay down, as a guiding principle to which 
every other consideration must give way, that every child 
shall from its birth have the fullest opportunity of living a 
sound and healthy life, and of participating in and enjoying 
the rational pleasures which should be accessible to all. 
We must have more fresh air, more open air, and in spite 
of sneers at the simple life we shall in time come to value 

106 



Social Conditions After the War. 

more the beauties of nature, and understand how real plea- 
sures may be both simple and inexpensive. 

We must so educate and train the children that, when 
they grow up, they will take a keen interest and pride in 
the national life. The great body of the people must have 
more opportunities for social intercourse and recreation 
than have been afforded them in the past by the public- 
house. It would be of immeasurable benefit, as one of the 
results of the awakening due to the War, if they took an 
active and intelligent interest in such matters as housing, 
care of infant life, working hours, education, provision of 
recreation and amusement, and parish and local expendi- 
ture generally. It would certainly tend to solve the diffi- 
cult problem of how the working classes are to make the 
best use of their leisure, so that they may extract from life 
some of the enjoyment that has so long been denied them, 
and in which they now claim to participate. 

It would be idle to ignore the tremendous importance 
of the Drink problem, but signs are not wanting that ap- 
preciable progress is being made in dealing with it. The 
awakening of the nation, and its realization of the moment- 
ous issues of the War, must exert a powerful influence in 
combating what has in the past been the chief enemy of 
the health and well-being of our people. The example of 
Russia is an incentive to us to excise this plague-spot from 
our national life, but in any case we must see that no 
temptation is offered to any man or woman to indulge in 
what wastes money, deteriorates health and efficiency, and 
lowers self-respect and the spirit of independence. The 
restrictions imposed during war must be continued and 
extended hereafter. There are forces at work, and coming 
into play, which will profoundly affect the moral standards 
of our people, and after the sacrifices of the War it is un- 
thinkable that we can ever relapse into the self-indulgence 
of the past. 

107 



Social Conditions After the War. 

We pride ourselves upon the magnificent contributions 
that we make as a nation to charitable funds and institu- 
tions, all of which have done noble work in the relief of 
distress. Startling as such a view may appear, it would 
mark a notable advance in the independent character of 
our people, if the need for such contributions continued to 
diminish until it reached a negligible minimum. Much is 
given in the name of charity by people who expect others 
to seek out deserving cases, and it is unfortunately true 
that in the great majority of instances the recipients are 
either worthless or are allowed, before help is given, to 
sink into such hopeless poverty and misery that they are 
unable to regain their position and self-respect. In both 
cases the doles given lead to deterioration of character and 
to degeneracy. 

What is wanted is the spirit of human fellowship and 
sympathy, and unless this is quickened and made a vital- 
izing force amongst us by the War, we shall have missed 
the only real blessing it could bring. 

During the past two years the idea of personal service 
has strongly influenced the nation, and, when peace comes, 
this must be continued and extended, until all feel the 
common duty and fellowship they owe to one another. They 
will then recognize of what vital importance it is to the 
national life, in peace as well as in war, that all should con- 
tribute to the common stock (of themselves as well as of 
their wealth) towards helping, in the spirit of true sympathy, 
their fellow-citizens who by accident are not so fortunately 
circumstanced as themselves. In doing so we shall add a 
fresh glory to our land, and perchance realize some of 
those ideals which we have been wont to regard as almost 
beyond human attainment. 



108 



Parliament. 

FEW of us would now dispute the advantages of a 
second chamber, and the House of Lords stands to-day- 
higher in the nation's esteem than at any previous period 
of our history. There may be peers with the right to sit 
and vote who have not earned that right, but they exert no 
influence, and time and again the Lords have given ample 
proof of their patriotism and of their ability to understand 
and express the feelings of the nation. We can now appre- 
ciate the immense service which the House of Lords ren- 
dered in opposing and preventing the ratification of the 
Declaration of London. To deprive them of all real power 
would be a serious loss, and any change should be in the 
direction of strengthening the House of Lords rather than 
weakening it. 

The House of Commons is at present in a transition 
stage, for it will unquestionably see considerable changes 
after the War, when parties will have to readjust themselves 
to the altered conditions, or perhaps cease for a time to 
exist. We shall have enough to attend to for many a long 
year in matters of vital moment, and national and imperial 
interests demand that party passions shall subside. The 
House of Commons of the future will doubtless be more 
representative of the true feelings of the country. Its 
members will, we may hope, be real representatives, not 
itinerant lawyers or adventurers, having no interest in 
the constituency, and only intent on personal advance- 
ment. 

The principle of payment of Members can be justified 
more than ever now, on the ground that want of private 
means should not be a barrier to any man, and it has come 
to stay. This only makes it the more necessary that mem- 
bers should, at regular intervals, give an account of their 
stewardship to their constituents. It is far from desirable 

109 



Parliament. 

that they should become mere delegates, but there is the 
danger, on the other hand, of their becoming party hacks, 
labelled by their party, and voting as directed. We want 
more independence, without the constant dread or threat 
that an adverse vote on any question will upset the Ministry 
and cause a dissolution. 

Such grave consequences should only follow a clearly 
expressed vote of want of confidence, and if this entails the 
risk of placing too much power in the hands of the 
Ministry, the alternative might be considered of reducing 
the life of a Parliament to four or even three years. 

Every representative should have his place in the life of 
his constituency, and help to guide and lead public opinion 
within its borders. His power and usefulness should not 
be frittered away in a multitude of social functions, as has 
too often been the case. 

When war broke out, it would have been of inestimable 
advantage had Members generally taken the lead in their 
constituencies and organized the various activities which 
were called into being. They might have conducted in- 
quiries into labour questions, reporting fully to head- 
quarters on local conditions, and making recommendations 
as to the public works that could be stopped or curtailed, 
and the public and private employes whose services could 
be diverted to national needs. 

As regards the franchise there can be no question that 
Manhood Suffrage must be established. All barriers due 
to property or household qualifications have been swept 
away, and some simple system of registration must enable 
all qualified persons to place their names on the register 
without any difficulty. 

The whole machinery of electing Members should be 
simplified, and expenses reduced to a minimum. The dis- 
location of business, which takes place under our present 
system, inflicts a heavy loss on the community, and, if this 

no 



Parliament. 

were dealt with, there could be little objection to more 
frequent appeals to the judgment of the nation. 

A Redistribution Bill is long overdue, to abolish the 
anomalies and inequalities which now exist, but this will 
no doubt have to wait, until we can estimate the effect of 
an extended electorate on the size of constituencies. A 
system of proportional representation would have been of 
great value at the present juncture, and we ought not to 
wait much longer for this indispensable reform. 

A general election will doubtless take place during the 
War, as the life of the present Parliament cannot be in- 
definitely extended. Means must therefore be taken for 
securing that all our citizen army, whether at home or 
abroad, shall have the opportunity of recording their votes, 
and as this will entail special legislation, provision should 
be made for the life of the Parliament so elected to run 
for only a short period. 

Some limit must be fixed to the contributions which 
wealthy men are in the habit of making to party funds, 
and it might almost be advisable to insist on the accounts 
being publicly audited. No contribution certainly should 
be allowed from any alien. 



1 1 1 



Statesmen and Politicians. 

DURING the last sixty years it must be confessed that 
we have had many politicians, but few statesmen — 
men of foresight and imagination, possessed of decision 
and real insight into affairs. Disraeli and Joseph Chamber- 
lain were the outstanding exceptions. 

For the greater part of the period in which Germany 
was consolidating her power and resources, and, as we now 
know, preparing her dream of world-wide supremacy, we 
played a somewhat ignominious role in the world's politics. 
We went far to abdicate the position which we had filled, 
and the idea was widely held and acted upon that our policy 
should be one of isolation. Fortunately this was checked 
in time, and our small campaigns, and finally the Egyptian 
and Boer Wars, proved clearly that we could not regard 
our interests apart from those of other Powers. Our 
Colonies too were giving proofs that, far from being a 
drain upon us (as had indeed been held by some of our 
politicians), they were able and willing to render valuable 
aid should the need arise. 

It is true that local politics and social experiments have 
absorbed the attention and energies of successive Govern- 
ments, but all the time there has been spreading a strong 
and ever-growing feeling of the necessity of forming a 
closer union with our Dominions Beyond the Seas. This 
has been an immense source of strength to the Motherland 
when the hour of trial came, and our Government was able 
to feel that it had a united Empire behind it when the issue 
of Peace or War had to be decided. 

The conditions that have existed for so many years have 
given lawyer-politicians, literary men, and philosophers a 
golden opportunity, of which they have availed themselves 
to the full. The great body of voters have been appealed 
to and moved by oratory and the lavish promise of social 

112 



Statesmen and Politicians. 

reforms, destined to create a new heaven and a new earth. 
In contests of this nature the lawyer-politician gained an 
easy victory, and the real national and business interests 
of the country were ignored. 

The awakening has however come, and, when the War 
is over, perhaps before, the people will declare emphatic- 
ally that they will no longer tolerate the domination of the 
lawyer-politician. What they require is a Government of 
resolute men, with a sound knowledge of business matters, 
prepared to deal drastically with the dangers to which our 
commerce and our national life have been exposed. The 
nation has suffered too long from want of leadership and 
guidance. 

The ranks of lawyers have undoubtedly produced many 
men of the highest ability, but their training makes them 
rely on precedent, a fatal defect when a crisis comes, calling 
for prompt and vigorous action. The Prime Minister was 
lately so good as to say that he had spent a large part of 
his life getting business men out of their difficulties. They 
will soon have the opportunity of repaying the debt, by 
helping to extricate the nation from the difficulties and 
troubles into which it has been suffered to drift by lawyers. 



"3 



Legislation. 

IT needs little foresight to see that much of our legal 
system must be recast and adapted to meet the altered 
spirit of the age. In the first instance regard must natur- 
ally be had to matters vitally affecting the security of the 
Empire and the safeguarding of its commerce. 

Of scarcely less importance will be the legislation re- 
quired for assuring the welfare and future of all who have 
fought in the War, and for regulating the conditions of 
labour, to be followed by drastic reorganization of the 
Civil Service, and measures for the improvement of health 
and social conditions. 

It is instructive to reflect on the development, within 
comparatively recent years, of restrictive or compulsory 
legislation. It has been recognized that, in the general in- 
terests of the community, not only must man be protected 
from his fellow-man, anxious to make profit out of his 
labour, but he must also be protected against himself. We 
shall assuredly see a wide extension of the principle of 
restriction or compulsion after the War, for it is unques- 
tionably in the general interest, however harassing it may 
seem to individuals. It exists of course to a large extent at 
present, affecting matters such as the adulteration of food, 
limitation of sale and consumption of drugs and drink, 
working hours, labour of children, workmen's compensa- 
tion and insurance, etc. If there is to be a wide extension, 
accompanied by State management or superintendence of 
certain industries, we have to face an increase in the already 
large army of State employes. This would constitute a 
grave danger, unless we evolve, as we must do, a new and 
better type of civil servant. 

In the near future questions of the most far-reaching 
character will arise, whose importance we are only just 
beginning to realize. It would appear to cut deep into our 

114 



Legislation. 

ideas of personal liberty that our right should be ques- 
tioned of employing whom we please, or of dealing as we 
deem best with our property. But the time has come 
when these rights must be curtailed, and only exercised, 
so far as they are not in conflict with, or detrimental to, 
the general interests of the community. 

It may be necessary to place all labour under official 
supervision in the interest of national efficiency. It has 
been interfered with in every direction that we may win 
the War, and when, at its conclusion, we enter upon the 
supremely difficult task of consolidating peace, and pro- 
viding a basis that will prevent the recurrence of such a 
war, it will not be possible to abandon a principle which 
is essentially just, which has proved so necessary in war, 
and which is equally necessary in peace in the general in- 
terest of the nation. A Ministry of Labour is as essential 
to the country as a Ministry of Commerce. 

It ought never again to be possible for young men, 
physically fit and capable of productive work, to be em- 
ployed in soft jobs by the State, or in menial occupations 
by wealthy people, or even in many business situations 
which could be filled quite as satisfactorily by women. 
Legislation will probably be required to effect this and to 
impose the needful restrictions. 

And if the principle is admitted in connection with 
labour, so much the more must it be recognized in dealing 
with property. The only rule must be the security and 
welfare of the community, and, if private interests should 
unfortunately conflict, they must give way. There must 
be limits to what any individual can be allowed to do with 
his wealth or his property, while he is a British citizen, 
or is living under the protection of our laws. The prin- 
ciple has been applied in a tentative form already, as in the 
compulsory acquisition of land, and in the taking over of 
slum property for rebuilding ; but it must be extended, 

"5 



Legislation. 

and it will in the end provide a solution of many problems 
which have hitherto baffled us. It may indeed be said that, 
upon the right application of this principle, depends a 
question of such vital importance as the provision of 
healthy homes for the people. 

Coincident with this increase of restrictive legislation, 
we shall have to reckon with the freer spirit which the 
War has awakened, and whose influence will continue 
after the War; but with this there will be joined a stronger 
sense of responsibility. If this is rightly understood, there 
can be no room in future for anything in the nature of 
petty persecution or punishment for trifling offences, which 
only produces bitter resentment without achieving any 
purpose. The good sense of the community will assist in 
preventing breaches of regulations or bylaws, and officials 
must never again waste their time (for which the public 
pays them) in harrying the public over trumpery matters, 
in trapping them into technical breaches of the law, or in 
prosecuting for some trifling offence, committed perhaps 
inadvertently, for which a warning would suffice. 

Our Criminal Law stands in need of reformation, on the 
basis of greater leniency being exercised for lesser offences, 
recognizing that in the interests of the State it is a distinct 
loss to the community to imprison any individual, not only 
because his labour is lost for the time, but also because im- 
prisonment lowers his character and reduces permanently 
his value to the State. But with this must be coupled an 
increased severity towards those who are repeatedly con- 
victed, and who have given ample proof that they are of 
no value to the State, but on the contrary a danger to it, 
and a source of loss, owing to the costly organization re- 
quired to deal effectively with them. With criminals of 
this type, it is better that the State should protect itself 
by putting an end to their liberty, and so preventing them 
from preying upon or injuring their fellow-men. Such 

116 



Legislation. 

extreme procedure would naturally be put in force, only 
when reformation was hopeless, and when liberty would 
be a danger to others or to themselves. 

It must be recognized that there is a certain class of 
criminals, who require drastic treatment as much as im- 
beciles or lunatics, and in restricting their freedom, we 
may also restrict the propagation of their kind. The tend- 
ency towards increased comfort in prison life has gone too 
far, and as, in course of time, the majority of prisoners 
would tend to be only hardened and hopeless cases, we 
should aim at a minimum and not a maximum of comfort. 

It would be idle to defer all changes in legislation to the 
end of the War, and then begin again the old wearisome 
procedure of appointing commissions or committees com- 
posed mostly of officials or members of the legal profes- 
sion, and only capable of producing a belated report when 
more pressing matters would render its proper consider- 
ation impossible. Any commissions or committees required 
should be constituted now, especially in the domain of 
Imperial security and Imperial trade. 



117 



Taxation. 

IT must be generally realized that before the War is 
over the nation will be taxed to the limits of its capa- 
city — far beyond what was ever imagined possible — and 
that this will continue for many a long year. We must 
cheerfully submit to taxation in every direction, subject 
to the two considerations, that it does not injure or press 
unfairly on any industry or national interest, and that the 
expense of collecting any tax is not out of proportion to 
the revenue obtained from it. 

These conditions however hardly cover the whole grou nd. 
Taxation will have to be imposed in the form of duties on 
imports, not only for revenue purposes, but also to restrict 
the importation of enemy goods. There will be many 
difficult problems to solve, as for instance whether an in- 
dustry is to be assisted by heavy import duties, or even in 
special cases by a substantial bonus on production, or by 
remitting duties at present levied, such as that on alcohol 
or spirit used for manufacturing purposes. 

The taxation of luxuries will be welcomed, and, from 
the point of view of national well-being, we should hardly 
regret a heavy decrease in the revenue from the taxation 
of drink. It will be made good, as in Russia, by increased 
efficiency and prosperity. 

The Income Tax, which is the sheet-anchor of our 
finance, has notoriously been developed in a haphazard 
and unscientific manner, and it ought to be completely 
revised and recast at the earliest moment after the War. 
Officials will not lightly abandon the principle of collecting 
it at the source, as this simplifies the task from their point 
of view. It throws the burden of obtaining refunds on the 
unfortunate taxpayer, who is irritated by the delays and 
obstacles he encounters at every turn. 

With so many people of moderate means holding in- 

118 



Taxation. 

vestments in limited companies, and with a graduated scale 
of Income Tax, it becomes a question whether it should 
continue to be collected at the source. Should it prove 
impossible to overcome the difficulties which such a change 
would involve, then some simple plan of refunding any 
excess should be adopted, such as giving power to col- 
lectors to deduct amounts so charged in exchange for the 
usual certificate of payment at the higher rate. This would 
save both private and public time, and reduce irritation. 

All profits and incomes earned or enjoyed within the 
Empire must be taxed, and aliens, employing their capital 
to trade within our borders, must not be treated more 
favourably than our own citizens. If by ingenious manipu- 
lation their accounts show insignificant profits, as has some- 
times happened in the past, they must be assessed on the 
turnover of their trading. 

So far the unit for the Income Tax has been the simple 
and obvious one — the income of each person, without 
reference to those dependent upon it, save for the slight 
allowance now made for children under certain conditions. 
Although Lord Haldane has assured us that in logical 
science we are ahead of other nations, nothing more illo- 
gical than this, in matters affecting national interests, can 
well be conceived. 

The real unit is unquestionably, each person dependent 
on the income, children under a certain age, or relatives 
wholly dependent, being treated as part units. The allow- 
ance to be deducted would then be per unit, and might 
fairly be on a scale rising from ^30 to £100 per annum. 
Thus a man with an income of £600, and having a wife 
and family of four children (under sixteen) to maintain, 
would be entitled to deduct, say £60 per unit for four 
units (taking each child as a half-unit), and would thus 
be assessed at £360 (£600- £240); while a bachelor with 
the same income, and with no one dependent on him, 

119 



Taxation. 

would be assessed at ^540 (£600 - £60). Under our 
present system the most lightly taxed people are bachelors 
and spinsters, enjoying considerable incomes, whereas they 
ought to be the most heavily taxed of all. 

The increased taxation of wealth is a fascinating theme, 
but, while guarding against injustice or unfairness of any 
kind, we must take care not to deaden the spirit of enter- 
prise and rightful ambition. 



120 



Education. 

/^\UR whole educational system is naturally in the melt- 
^^ ing-pot at this crisis, but this is all to the good, and 
we have now a rare opportunity of putting into practice 
the spirit of true Education, which should form character, 
stimulate the thinking and reasoning faculties, and incul- 
cate the duties of citizenship. With it must be associated 
the highest spirit of morality and true religion, unmindful 
of sects, but enforcing the duty of real brotherhood. 

We are making progress towards a settlement of the 
basis of elementary education, and an agreement as to the 
limits within which the great body of children should be 
instructed, up to the time of their leaving school at the 
age of fourteen. But when this goal has been attained, 
there is the infinitely more serious problem to be faced, of 
the further instruction they should receive during the 
succeeding three or four years, if they are to develop on 
sound lines. In order thoroughly to appreciate it, we must 
recognize that there are certain principles and facts which 
cannot be ignored. In the first place it will be conceded, 
that education cannot come to an end at the age of four- 
teen, but that our boys and girls should receive instruc- 
tion for a further three or four years. In the second place 
it will be as readily admitted that, under present conditions, 
anything of this nature is impossible for the bulk of the 
working classes. 

They are anxious that their children should earn some- 
thing tor their sustenance and clothing at the earliest mo- 
ment, and, in view of the sacrifices they have made, they 
can hardly be blamed. In bringing up their children they 
have rendered a service to the State, and, as the State will 
benefit by the increased well-being and efficiency, which 
will result from the more rational ordering of the children's 
lives, it must make provision for the cost entailed. A 

121 



Education. 

beginning has been made in the sphere of "after care" 
work, which is of great value in connection with the em- 
ployment of children after they have left school ; and the 
principle is capable of great extension. Employers of boys 
and girls under eighteen years of age should be bound by 
stricter regulations as to working hours, wages, and health 
conditions. Provision must be made for reduced hours 
on certain days each week, so that classes for instruction, 
technical and other, may be attended. The workers must 
not be so tired out, overworked, or underfed, as to be in- 
capable of receiving instruction, and precautions must be 
taken on the other hand to see that attendance is maintained 
and that there is no shirking. 

The difficulty will be to reconcile a system of "after 
education" with business requirements and the need for 
not diminishing the earning power of the children. It must 
however be solved, and again the only principle that can 
be allowed to guide us is the general interest and welfare 
of the community. The teaching must be bright and stimu- 
lating, and it might well be a guide to a knowledge of 
healthy recreation, and a potent influence in helping the 
young to make the best use of their free time. 

Although there should be no need for such a precaution, 
we ought to forbid the use in all schools of any book ex- 
pressing disloyal sentiments, or containing anything depre- 
ciatory of any part of the Empire. 

Technical schools and the modern universities of our 
provincial cities are bound to develop with rapid strides, and 
they must attain and retain a high degree of efficiency, to 
enable our trade to compete in the markets of the world. 
No duties, protective or restrictive, will avail us, if we do 
not maintain the quality and intrinsic value of our manu- 
factures. 

It may please us to think that German success in many 
branches of trade is due to cheapness which can only come 

122 



Education. 

from the manufacture of an inferior article, but this is by no 
means always the case. In far too many instances the cheap- 
ness is due to higher technical education, efficiency, and or- 
ganization ; and it is only by setting our house in order, from 
elementary education upwards, that we can expect to com- 
pete successfully with Germany and with other nations. 

We shall probably always have with us the interesting 
but unsatisfactory controversy as to the respective merits 
of the classics and science. For the great mass of the 
people it is undoubtedly preferable — it might almost be 
said indispensable — that they should receive in their early 
years a sound knowledge of elementary science. In dealing 
with advanced students, we undoubtedly require more and 
more men, so trained in science and research work as to 
be capable of rendering valuable aid in the industrial life 
of the nation. It would however be a real loss if many 
men outside the learned professions — even some of those 
choosing a commercial career — did not avail themselves of 
that generous classical education, which is both a tradition 
and a living force. 

The demand is often made that more importance should 
be paid, in examinations for the public services, to scientific 
subjects; but in ordinary administrative posts, a man with 
scientific attainments would have little or no opportunity 
of using them, and it would be preferable to reserve special 
posts for scientific experts, forming if necessary a separate 
division for them. 

When the importance of education is realized, it will be 
seen how necessary it is to attract men of high character 
and attainments to the work of training the children of our 
people. Higher qualifications must be insisted upon, but 
at the same time higher remuneration must be offered, for 
anything in the nature of grievance or discontent is not 
only a source of loss, but degrading to a profession whose 
ideals should be of the highest. 

123 



Education. 

It is difficult to realize that, in spite of the immense ad- 
vance of the past fifty years, there has never been a period 
in our history when those who possess political power 
were more completely ignorant of the history of their own 
as well as other lands. We have suffered severely from this 
ignorance, but the War is helping to remedy it, and we 
must see to it in future that a reasonable general know- 
ledge of the British Empire, from both the historical and 
geographical points of view, is imparted to all children, 
and that they have the opportunity later of acquiring 
similar knowledge of other nations and lands. 

We have been too diffident in the past in giving expres- 
sion to our feelings of pride in the achievements of our 
race, and we have allowed many national celebrations to 
drop out of remembrance. It is foreign to our nature to 
be for ever proclaiming that Britain is the most glorious 
country in the world, but there is need to instil into our 
people, especially in their youth, a spirit of sane and 
healthy patriotism. It is right that on certain chosen days 
we should celebrate together throughout our Empire 
some great event which is our common heritage, or honour 
some national idea of unity which vibrates in the hearts 
of all. Each part of the Empire may have its own day to 
mark some glorious deed in its annals, but on Empire 
Day the whole Empire might well unite in thanksgiving 
and gratitude for our glorious past, and in steadfast faith 
and hope of a still greater future. The day should be 
dedicated in our schools to the highest form of education, 
the inculcation of patriotism, and our children would learn 
from it, without vain boasting or depreciation of other 
nations, the greatness of the trust committed to them — for 
with them lies the future of our race. 



124 



Christianity. 



THE most wonderful opportunity, that has ever con- 
fronted it in all its marvellous history, is now opening 
up before the Church of Christ, and as its branches seize 
it, so will they demonstrate their power and fitness to con- 
tinue as a living force. 

The conditions are unique and of absorbing interest. 
Millions of men have gone forth prepared to make the 
supreme sacrifice at the call of Duty, and have endured 
hardship and suffering, to defend all that is dear to them. 
The spirit of sacrifice and duty has enriched the soil and 
made it ready for the sower in every land where the Angel 
of Death has passed. Through the spread of education, the 
message of the Church can reach and penetrate the masses 
as it never could before, and if that message is inspired to 
uplift the souls of men, the harvest will outweigh the sor- 
row and suffering of the War, and realize the promise of a 
nobler future for mankind. 

The despairing plea, that the War has shown the power- 
lessness or failure of Christianity, is hardly worth refuting. 
It has indeed revealed the weakness of the Church in the 
past, but in redressing this the Church can exert an influ- 
ence that will go far to render impossible the recurrence 
of such a War. 

It has taken many centuries of Christianity to establish 
the real sanctity of human life, and by a seeming paradox 
this principle has been consecrated forall time by theterrible 
and unprecedented carnage of the War. We are witnessing 
a momentous change in a world, which has been governed 
hitherto from the standpoint of property, but which in 
future will make human life the paramount consideration. 

The forms of worship and ritual, the dogmas, and ob- 
servances, which differentiate the several branches of the 
Church, will continue and endure, for they are founded 

125 



Christianity. 

deep in history, and have grown up in national feeling and 
temperament, but the spirit of toleration, which has been 
slowly spreading, has now received an impetus from the 
War that will quicken the faith of all who believe in the 
true brotherhood of man. 

The spirit of the brotherhood of man has too often been 
confused with the idea of the brotherhood of all men, and 
the confusion has led to bitter disappointment. The latter 
is only an assumption, premature and unjustified, of the 
unity of all men, and those, who proclaim it in all sincerity 
and with high ideals, have evolved from it principles which, 
they believed, would banish war and regenerate the world. 
But abstract principles have no living force or binding 
power, and as they appeal to the individual soul, they 
only render it sterile, and induce intellectual pride in 
place of human sympathy. The spirit of the brotherhood 
of man, on the contrary, takes root in the individual soul, 
fostering and bringing to light the spark of spiritual life 
which exists in each, even the meanest of the human race. 
As it permeates upwards and onward, it will at last, in 
God's own time, embrace all men, and render them worthy 
of the manhood and brotherhood which they share with 
the Saviour of mankind. 

Duty is our watchword in this crisis, and duty also is 
the kernel of practical Christianity, our duty to our fellow 
men, our duty to our Creator. But without faith, duty 
cannot exist, and for many a long year we have as a nation 
suffered from lack of faith. We have drifted along in 
selfishness and luxury, and many, who felt uneasy and 
dissatisfied, gave way or stood aside, feeling that it was 
hopeless for them to try to stem the current. During the 
Warthis feeling has manifested itself in the attitude of those 
who have quite made up their minds that the rest of the 
nation are weaklings and fools, ready to forget the lessons 
of the War, and to allow the enemy to return and resume 

126 



Christianity. 

his activities as before. They are themselves utterly- 
opposed to anything of the kind, but they have no faith 
in their fellow-men, and, fearful of being in the minority, 
they would bring about the result that all would deplore. 
The remedy is, for each individual to have the courage to 
think out the right course to follow, to adopt it fearlessly 
and without question, and to have faith in his fellow men 
that they will do likewise. He will be astonished to find 
that nine-tenths of them, perhaps more, are solidly with 
him. And so in the growth of the spirit of the brother- 
hood of man, faith will lead on to duty, and each individual 
will realize that his fellow-men are fighting the same fight 
and winning the same victory as himself. 

There rises before us now the eternal question, which 
has baffled all the ages, but which must be resolutely faced. 
How can the brotherhood of man become a living force 
on this earth under present conditions, when roughly five 
per cent, annex and enjoy more than half of the wealth 
produced, the remaining ninety-five per cent, receiving 
less than half, although that wealth is largely the product 
of their labour ? The truth is that the ninety-five per cent, 
have to be supervised and guided, and their work mapped 
out for them by the five per cent., who must naturally be 
more highly remunerated, but who have in too many 
instances selfishly taken a wholly disproportionate share. 
That this must be remedied is urgent, for history, in the 
form of the French Revolution, has taught us the danger 
of such a state of affairs. Those who, through good for- 
tune or higher gifts, are placed in a favoured position, 
must recognize the duty they owe to their fellow-men. It 
is not too much to say that the whole future of our 
national life depends upon the thorough realization, by 
the fortunate and favoured amongst us, of that duty. Let 
them co-operate with the workers in making this world a 
better place for all to live in. 

127 



Christianity. 

In this connection we must not fall into the fallacy of 
confusing material comfort with materialism. The danger 
of materialism exists, and would become a terrible menace 
if men were to act in fierce and unbridled competition, 
slaves to money-getting and without a thought of duty to 
each other. It can be fought and overcome only by the 
diffusion of material comfort, for it is given to few to 
triumph over poverty and adversity, and in spite of them 
to cultivate the deeper spiritual nature. With the vast 
majority of men, the spiritual nature has no chance of 
forcing its way through, if it is overlaid and choked with 
the anxieties that wring so many men's hearts, when they 
think of the future years and those dependent on them. 
It is hardly to be wondered at under present conditions if 
men and women, realizing the misery that awaits them 
after they are past work, determine to get all the pleasure 
and enjoyment they can out of the period of wage earning. 
Too often they confuse enjoyment with excitement, and re- 
sort to drink, but there is little inducement for them to save, 
and a hard and bitter feeling grows up, which ruins character 
and works infinite harm. Cannot this be remedied ? 

What we have to aim at is, that all shall work to the 
utmost of their ability, giving the best that is in them, and 
receiving, in return for their labour, an assurance of mo- 
derate comfort and relief from anxiety for the future. It 
is quite feasible, but it demands goodwill, faith, and sacri- 
fice on both sides. When once that stage is reached, a 
barrier will be erected against materialism which it will 
never surmount. 

As the Creator is infinite, so the human soul is finite, 
and there are limits to its powers. But there is a nobler 
destiny for man than his evolution through frenzied com- 
petition into a soulless machine, and his passing into a 
state of hopeless lunacy, or degenerating to the level of 
the brute creation. 

128 



Unto the End. 

WE stand on the threshold of a new age, an age that 
in interest will eclipse anything hitherto experienced 
in the history of the world. The tremendous conflict we 
are passing through has tried, is trying, and will try, every 
fibre of our race, and the settlement, not only of the War, 
but of the lines on which our Empire shall develop and 
endure, will search us still more, and will prove whether 
we are, as we believe, worthy of our past and destined to 
a more glorious future. 

The settlement is fraught with consequences of tremend- 
ous import to the human race, and that it may be well and 
truly laid, the Empire needs the help of every man, with 
brains to think, with vision to see, and with heart to feel. 
Our vital need will be for men of action, who will brush 
aside shams and sophistries, and bend their sole aim to the 
national welfare and the prosperity of the Empire. There 
is something greater than either Wealth or Power. It is 
Responsibility, from which we must not shrink, for as we 
face it and bear its burden, so shall we be judged and 
proved. 

We must no longer wait and see ; rather must we wake 
and seize the opportunities that are already arising and 
may find us unprepared unless we have faith and vision. 

If our Government lacks faith, if it cannot grasp the 
principle that we can manage our affairs and carry on with- 
out the aid of alien adventurers, then our people through- 
out the world will insist on the Empire's interests being 
entrusted to men who are fired by the traditions, and 
conscious of the destiny, of our race. This is our Land ; 
let us prove ourselves worthy of it. 



129 



SHALL we, whose fathers through the ages fought 
In Freedom's sacred cause, and gave their lives 
To deathless fame in every land and sea — 
Shall we, whose life-blood is the throbbing deep, 
So shame our past as blench before this horde, 
Whose grandsires ate the bread of servitude ? 
No ! By the souls of all the glorious dead, 
Whose kindred blood leaps in our veins, Heaven be 
Our witness that we shall not rest till we 
Have overthrown this scourge of human-kind, 
Who vainly dreams by Hell's own deeds to work 
The will of God, and cleansed the patient Earth 
Of this accursed crime. Long years we deemed 
Them men, gave them the hand of fellowship 
And trust, and bade them welcome to our homes, 
Till one fell moment stripped the mask ; they stood 
Revealed : mean, treacherous, false, owning no law 
But their wild lust of power. Long years shall pass 
Ere they wipe out the stain upon their name, 
And win the right to stand again beside 
Their fellow-men, conscious of honour's due. 
Perchance the race reborn may slowly learn 
How nations rise refined and welded true 
Through faith and freedom, fit to bear on high 
The stainless banner of the living God. 

November, 1914. 




Printed by Geo. W. Jones, At The Sign of The Dolphin, 

Gough Square, Fleet Street, 

London, E.C. 



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